Stonewood Village Homes Development Already Into Final Phase.
Category News
Just over one year since it was launched, Trinity Projects' 106 home development on the corner of Pinehurst Drive and Okavango Road in Cape Town's northern suburbs has sold 90 homes (in five phases) and is now into its final phase, for the last 16 homes.
Rowan Alexander, Director of Stonewood's sole marketing and selling agency, Alexander Swart Properties, said that his team expects to be fully sold out by the end of March and by then, he believes, the homes will have on average already increased in value by 10%. On average, he said, the turnaround time between signing a buying agreement and hand over of a newly completed home is eight to nine months-inclusive of all building work and the transfer and legal documentation.
"We were fairly sure that sales would be slowed down by the lockdown-but this has not happened," he said. "We have made greater use of online contact but the fact that we could still take potential buyers to the showhouses -using their own vehicles and maintaining social spacing-has helped greatly."
"The fast take-up is, I am convinced, due to the genuine value that these homes offer. They are priced at between R1,95 and R2,2 million and have 130m2 to 158m2 of floor area on one single level. Nothing comparable to this has been seen in our northern suburbs since 2015. What is more, this price range exactly suits today's middle class salary earner and it is interesting to note that the largest homes, those with 158m2 of floor area, were the best sellers."
It was, he added, also noteworthy that, although 100% bonds were available to approved buyers, many buyers so far have come up with large deposits.
The markedly lower interest rates, said Alexander, have also very definitely contributed to the success of the development.
"In this price range with the previous interest rates a buyer would have had to have had a monthly income of R 60 000. With the reduced rates we have on occasions been able to arrange bonds for buyers with R42 000 monthly earnings."
All the homes have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and double garages. All are single storey, which, said Alexander, suits older people and those with small children.
Other factors which have led to fast sales, said Alexander, have been the round-the-clock security made possible by enclosing the entire estate in electric fencing and patrolling it at all times of the day and night. Equally important has, he said, been the good landscaping of the open areas which comprise a large part of the total area. These communal areas include an attractive dam with water plants (ideal for picnics) and have almost one kilometre of walking trails.
The positioning of the development has been a further contributor to its success. It is close to many schools and the new university (scheduled to open in the next few years), retail, business and medical centres, and close to the main highways into the city.
Asked if ASP is doing equally well in its main market, the sale of second hand homes, Alexander said that the impact of the lockdown had at first hit the market hard but Alexander Swart have learned how to cope with it and are now on an even keel: they had 22 sales, most in the R2,000,000 to R3,000,000. category, in January. Asked if other agencies are coping as well, he said that the market is now very conducive to business and that agents who are struggling need to reconsider their position in the market and find ways to improve their value offering.
For further information, please contact Rowan Alexander on cellphone 082 581 3116 or via email: rowan@aspg.co.za
Author: Rowan Alexander
