This summer has seen the best property sales in St Francis for a few years, with well over R100m in sales, including many properties sold for more than R4m.

There have been sales all the way from Riverglades on the Oyster Bay Road, to Otters Landing, at the end of Santareme. There have been at least nine sales over R4m since November, and at least another nine over R2.5m.

This is a tempo of high value sales not seen for a few years. Amazingly, all four houses in Sunset Avenue, which have been on the market for about two years, sold in the last few weeks, all for more than R5m. At least seven canal houses sold, two of them for over R10m.

Three Port apartments sold for about R3m, and at least three more for over R1.5m – “the best sales at the Port for years,” remarks Richard Arderne from Pam Golding, St Francis Bay. Two canal plots affected by the fire have been sold, one on the ski canal for over R3.5m, with quite a few more now on the market, but at relatively high prices.

Three other canal plots have also sold, at prices varying from R1.3m to R2.8m. A house in Santareme sold for about R4m, a record for a house not on the front row. At least two small holdings were sold along the Oyster Bay Road. Sixteen plots on St Francis Links were sold.

Although there were a number of sales of houses in the R1m – R2m range, the bulk of the sales this summer were at higher prices, the opposite to the trend over the past few years. “The buyers are largely South Africans, despite the weaker Rand,” notes Arderne.

“Two recent sales were owners affected by the fire, wanting to improve on their positions. Another sale was to a canal owner upgrading his view. A few were to South Africans moving to St Francis.” Arderne believes the following factors have contributed to the increase in sales: the excellent weather this summer, the expectations of a building boom as fire insurance money flows into the town, the high South African stock exchange, sellers accepting slightly lower offers, and buyers thinking that prices are unlikely to drop further.

“The bottom line is that the performance by St Francis property this summer is too good to merely be a coincidence.” He says it is great to see that 80% of the fire affected houses have been demolished, and the first few houses under construction. St Francis builders are busy!

– News source – Pam Golding Properties. Edited by Bev Mortimer, St Francis Chronicle

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