Braamfontein accommodation on the university's doorstep

It’s described by some as the northern gateway to Joburg’s city centre, specifically via the impressive Nelson Mandela (suspension) Bridge that spans the dozens of railway lines in the shunting yards outside the Johannesburg train station. To others, Braamfontein is a hub for the arts, entertainment and education just off the M1 freeway connecting the city’s older, central precincts with the newer suburbs to the north. And to anybody travelling through Braamfontein it’s a place of high-rise buildings, office blocks, flats and apartment buildings with shops of various types lining many of the streets.

Here you’ll find the boardrooms of major corporates, the campus of the Witwatersrand University (Wits), the Johannesburg Theatre (formerly The Civic), the 5th Dimension College of Visual Arts, the Neighbourgoods Market and hotels including the Parktonian and the Devonshire. There aren’t any houses to speak of in Braamfontein, but there’s a huge variety of residential options nonetheless.

You can rent a great unfurnished, one-bedroom bachelor pad (with access to a pool) for around R4000 a month – in fact you can get a semi-furnished bachelor flat for the same amount. R4500 a month will get you a comfortable, fully-furnished bachelor flat, and for a bit more room plus covered parking, there are one-bed roomed apartments going for R5000.

For a spacious two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in a well-maintained building with 24-hour security and within walking distance of Wits and the University of Johannesburg, you’re looking at paying R5500 to R6000 a month.

R250 000 to R400 000 is the range that most decent flats and apartments are selling for in the Braamfontein high-rises.

If you’re looking for clean, safe and affordable accommodation in Braamfontein, it makes sense to deal through agents who are very familiar with the territory and, better still, based in Braamfontein. Blue Label is just such a company, plus they specialise in buildings with security personnel on site, high tech security equipment such as finger-print readers and cameras, and they are continually refurbishing their buildings, inside and out.

There were several positive indicators for the residential property market

JOHANNESBURG - These included continued year-on-year growth in property prices, especially for first-time buyers. Simultaneously, there had been a decline in the size of the deposit required.

"The average purchase price in July 2012 was R846, 863, up 3.1 percent from R821, 579 in July 2011," said ooba. For first-time buyers, the average purchase price had increased by 7.8 percent year-on-year, from R609, 417 in July last year to R657, 069 in July this year.

However, the month-on-month purchase price statistics did indicate a trend of slowing growth in property prices, in line with slowing economic growth.

"Of our total intake of bond applications in July, 53 percent were from first-time buyers, a five percent increase from last year," says Rhys Dyer, ooba chief operating officer.

"The sustained higher levels of first-time buyer activity are underpinning good year-on-year growth in property prices in the first-time buyer segments." The average home loan deposit had reduced from 15.1 percent of the purchase price in July last year to 12.6 percent of the purchase price in July this year.
"The reduction in deposits is a good indicator of bank credit appetite, reflecting improved access to finance for home buyers with limited deposits," ooba said.

As a further indicator of credit conditions, the approval rate had risen to in effect 65.3 percent of loan applications, from 64.2 percent last year. This increase was driven by a "healthy improvement" in the percentage of applications which were declined by one bank, but approved by another, from 23.1 percent of applications last year to 27.6 percent this year.

The trailing approval rate, including loans approved after month-end, was 68.6 percent. These improved lending conditions continued to drive strong year-on-year value growth, said ooba.

Home loan applications had seen a 28 percent increase in value, while the value of home loan approvals had increased by 38 percent in July --ooba's best monthly performance since 2008.

The Reserve Bank's decision to drop interest rates in July by a further 0.5 percent was likely to add a further mild stimulus to the lending environment, improving buyers' ability to qualify for loans. "This, coupled with the improvements in approval rates and average deposits, is likely to sustain the current higher levels of lending activity," said Dyer.

 

Article from the Citizen

High returns for Joburg inner city apartments

JOHANNESBURG – A new index on the performance of property in the Johannesburg inner city has indicated that apartments there have delivered compound returns of 17% per annum, over the past eleven years.  Townhouses have also performed well, delivering returns of 12%.

Property specialists, Citiq, have launched The Citiq City Index based on relative price performance of the Johannesburg inner city apartment market and a selection of townhouse developments in the Johannesburg metropole from January 2000 to December 2011.

Citiq CEO Paul Lapham says the returns are on capital and that investors should factor in the rental income that would have been generated over and above this. “Even after the property crisis of 2008, townhouses have continued to show consistent price growth, with prices since 2009 growing by an average 4% per annum in nominal terms.

“Over the same period the inner city apartment market grew in price terms by 8% per annum, although with significant volatility from year to year,” Lapham said.

Lapham explains that an investment of R100 in a city apartment in 2000 would be worth R567 today. He says a comparable investment in a townhouse would today be worth R332. “Both markets did exceptionally well during this period, benefitting from the property boom that lasted until 2008,” Lapham added. 

He has attributed the strong performance of the inner city market, albeit from a very low base, to continued regeneration of the city, supported by both private and public sector initiatives. Lapham says the introduction of urban development zone tax incentives also contributed to large scale private investment into the city. The Johannesburg Development Agency and the Johannesburg Social Housing Company have also made significant investments in infrastructure and housing in the area.

Citiq has been involved in the inner city and townhouse market since 2005 and owns and manages more than 3 000 apartments and townhouses in the city.  Head of Citiq’s analytics department, Razia Cleland, says the index is based on sectional title sales in the Johannesburg inner city and selected suburbs with high densities of townhouses like Honeydew Ridge, Winchester Hills, North Riding, Weltevreden Park and Randpark Ridge. The inner city comprises 20 suburbs and includes Yeoville, Berea, Braamfontein, Troyeville, Selby, Highlands North, Jeppestown and Joubert Park. 

The index uses the average price per square metre to compare the two markets. Cleland says: “Using the square meterage of apartments provides a useful benchmark of what people should be paying for apartments, although we would urge people to be cautious to take into account the condition, location and type of apartment they are buying when using the index as a benchmark for their own purchase decisions.”

Lapham says the average price per square metre of property sales in the inner city apartment segment was roughly R2 800 in 2011. This was up significantly from R471/m² in 2000. He adds these returns do mask significant volatility with the inner city market having been adversely affected by the 2008 property crisis, only showing a recovery to 2007 levels as late as 2011.

He adds the historical price performance of both townhouses and the inner city apartment market have been a stable investment for homeowners, which together with rentals accrued have delivered inflation beating returns. Lapham says given the benefits of living close to the city and subsequent savings in transport costs, he believes the inner city apartment market will provide long-term growth prospects for investors and homeowners.

Author: Micel Schnehage