The next growth areas in Joburg to invest in property.
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Traffic jams are a daily challenge for many residents of Johannesburg and Cape Town and the desire to avoid them is informing many current property purchasing decisions in these two metros.
So says Gerhard Kotzé, MD of the RealNet estate agency group, who explains: “We can clearly see three different preferences emerging among different groups of homebuyers.
“The first of these is the growing demand among young buyers for apartments and townhouses in areas close to their workplaces – whether these are in the city centre or decentralised commercial hubs – and preferably also very close to a variety of shops, restaurants and entertainment and sports venues.
“This preference is being underpinned by the high cost of private transport, with fuel prices now being 20% higher than they were a year ago and the fuel levy and Road Accident Fund levy being increased every year. Add this to the ever-increasing costs of maintaining and insuring a vehicle and many young people would far rather put that money towards rent or even a home loan in a convenient location.”
The second group of buyers doing their best to avoid traffic congestion, he said, are those with families who also want to live close to their children’s schools. “Just as they don’t want to sit in traffic, most parents also don’t want their children to have to spend hours each day travelling by bus or taxi to school in a distant suburb, and with both parents in many families working, the logistics of getting children to and from school themselves has become an increasingly serious consideration in their choice of home,” Kotzé said.
This is driving particularly strong demand for homes in older, central suburbs that are well supplied with schools within walking or minimal driving distance of home – and are still not too far from the office, or better still, are on a bus or train route that enables a non-car commute to work.
“Among the more affluent, it is also fuelling demand for homes in estate developments which incorporate their own schools and other amenities that eliminate or significantly reduce the need to travel. These gated communities are particularly popular with buyers who are able to work from home most of the time,” Kotzé said.
The third group, the property specialist said, are “lifestyle” buyers for whom the new public transport systems such as the Gautrain or the MyCiti network has created the opportunity to work in the city centre but live at the beach, for example, or in a more affordable suburb where they can perhaps buy a house rather than an apartment.
“And the expansion of these networks is likely to exacerbate this trend and increase property values in all the areas within easy reach of the stations or bus stops – as has happened around all the new Crossrail stops in London, for example.
Read: These are the new routes planned for the next phase of the Gautrain
In March, Gauteng Roads and Transport MEC Dr Ismail Vadi announced that nineteen new Gautrain stations are being planned, including a link to Lanseria Airport.
The Gautrain Management Agency is planning to extend the rail route by 150 kilometres over the next twenty years, including routes through Randburg, Fourways, and Soweto.
The feasibility study identified the following main links and stations of the Gautrain rail network extensions:
- On the link between Jabulani via Cosmo City and Samrand to Mamelodi, stations include Roodepoort, Little Falls, Fourways, Sunninghill, Olievenhoutsbosch, Irene, Tshwane East and Hazeldean.
- The link between Sandton and Cosmo City has a station at Randburg.
- On the link between Rhodesfield and Boksburg there will be a station at East Rand Mall and possible link-up with the OR Tambo International Airport Midfield terminal development.
- A future link from Cosmo City to Lanseria Airport.
“Traffic avoidance will no doubt also influence developers’ and builders’ decisions about the location of new housing projects, and so have a significant effect on the future shape of these two metros, and most likely Ethekwini as well,” said Kotze.
Author: Businesstech
