Home buyers with serious spending power in KwaZulu-Natal’s Upper Highway area had only one suburb in their sights until a few years ago: Kloof.
However, the lush residential suburb that grew out of a weekend and holiday retreat for wealthy Durban residents can no longer lay claim to being the only top-of-the-hill destination, avers Murray Aberdein, principal of Harcourts Suburban Spaces.
Aberdein, whose company recently joined the giant Harcourts group after five years of successful operation as an independent, explains: “Hillcrest, long its countrified neighbour, has superseded Kloof as the economic hub of the Upper Highway on the back of intense and large-scale commercial, retail and residential development. The centre of Hillcrest today bears no resemblance to the little village of ten years ago, and the smallholdings and sugar cane fields that characterised the area have now made way for acres of prime secure estates such as Kirtlington, Le Domaine, Cotswold Downs and Langford, to name but a few.”
He continues: “The most interesting trend we’re witnessing is the shift in pricing premiums between the two areas. Seven to 10 years ago, Kloof house prices were about 25 percent higher than those in Hillcrest across the board. With the massive growth of Hillcrest’s town centre and the development of numerous shopping centres and exclusive estates, however, there is no longer a price premium for Kloof. Buyers aren’t suburb-bound anymore – rather they’re looking in a price range, and accordingly want to see all that’s on offer in the Upper Highway area. As a result, house prices in Hillcrest are now on a par with those in Kloof.”
Testimony to his assertion is the strong take-up of homes in Hillcrest to the point where he says there’s a shortage of correctly priced stock, not only in the relatively affordable R1 million to R2 million price bracket but also in the luxury R3,5 million plus category.
Currently, most demand is for townhouses up to R2,5 million, says Aberdein. These buyers are predominantly young and upwardly mobile (“yuppies”) from all race groups as well as older, local residents wanting to downsize. “Young buyers want to live in a family friendly environment, close to good schools. The downsizers want to remain in the area while scaling down from their large family houses to lock-up-and-go living,” he says. In this price range, they can expect to get a 200² to 250 m² unit comprising three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two lounges and a double garage within secure perimeters.
The “go-to” suburbs at the top-end of the market include the Kloof Golf Course area and Inanda Road in Hillcrest, with the starting price in this category around R4 million, notes Aberdein further. This will buy a large freestanding house on a stand of at least 3600m² in prime Kloof, or a unit on an upmarket, secure estate that offers at least three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two lounges, double garage and a swimming pool. Buyers can also expect something extra, whether it is a guest wing, cinema room, ducted air-conditioning, central vacuum system or home office.
Since the beginning of the year, the most expensive home to be sold by Aberdein’s office was in Kirtlington Estate on Inanda Road, Hillcrest. Comprising five bedrooms, four bathrooms, three lounges, three garages, a jacuzzi/sauna, a home gym room and a swimming pool, the property changed hands for R6,1 million in February 2013.
Kirtlington Estate is also the address of one of his office’s most exclusive listings: a contemporary style 760m² home with soaring sculpted beams and gleaming hard wood floors, on the market for R8, 95 million. The property, which has been featured in a number of décor magazines, offers four bedrooms, four bathrooms, three lounges, ducted air-conditioning, cinema room, bar lounge and games room, Jacuzzi with 180 degree views, north-facing central inner garden, and many other extraordinary features which Aberdein says will appeal to a buyer on the lookout for something “spectacularly different”.
While the Upper Highway tends to favour mid- to upper-end buyers, there are opportunities, though rare, for those with limited budgets. According to Aberdein, it’s possible to buy a starter home in Kloof or Waterfall for around R900 000 and units in affordably priced complexes such as Aintree Lane, which is popular with first time buyers and investors. “Townhouses with small gardens and low levies are particularly sought-after by investors who are experiencing rental yields of up to 9%, depending on where they buy and what they pay,” he says.
Expecting his market to start making “better-than-inflation gains throughout the rest of 2013 and 2014, and then improving steadily thereafter”, Aberdein says the financial institutions appear to be more willing to grant mortgage bonds of late. “The self-employed, who make up a large portion of our buyers, really struggled to secure home loans last year, which effectively put the brakes on market activity. With the relaxation in lending criteria, I expect the market to show good growth in terms of both selling prices and unit sales going forward.”
A further sign that the market is poised for growth is renewed interest from developers after a five year hiatus. “Developers are making serious enquiries, and I’m in discussion with three of them, which is exciting,” he says.
