Property Market Asking Prices

[R13...]

There's a company called Lightstone that sells property reports.
Buy one (it's around R70) for a property on which you want to put an offer.
The report gives you some cool information like:
ERF number/s
Current owner, and previous owners
Last few transactions on the property (transfer dates and prices)
Low, mid, and high expected values
Other recent sales (and their addresses) in the same area

This is very useful. Next time I buy property I will most def buy a report it's only R55 excl. VAT.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

I bought both my daughters flats and they paid me back. One still has her flat, it has increased in price some 80% since 2004, the other sold her flat for a small profit and bought a house, which she rents out.

Flats are generally better value and of course, maintenance is minimal, although you pay a levy and rates. One one flat is in Disa Park in Vredehoek, worth about R1m and the levy is R 1120, rates R350. Another flat is in Plumstead, worth about R750k, the levy R935 and rates R230

This is where I disagree: I have flats across the road from me built off the same plans as my house (we live in a neighbourhood built by Denel in the 80's). The levies on those flats is higher than my maintenance budget and rates.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

Appreciate the inputs!!

A decent Estate Agent will supply you all the info you need. The guys we used gave us local property valuations to help us decided if we should take the property of not.

 

[Bunta]

The property valuation sites use the latest sales prices in an area to calculate the property values, and will be far more accurate than the Municipal valuation.

The Municipal valuations are usually between two and seven years old. It takes a couple of years from an actual valuation until the valuation is published, and that is valid till the next one five years later.

True, BUT, you can actually see for yourself how much properties in an Area go for....
You go to the valuation roll on the municipal database/ valuation roll.
City of Cape Town's D.base has an option to click on to see sales in the area ;-)
eg. http://web1.capetown.gov.za/web1/gv2012/Sales.aspx?parcelid=cct0000978
Yes, one of those is a house I sold last year.
To determine what a Property is worth TO ME, I used :
1) those valuations,
2) along with those specific property sizes ( you can check that too) as well as actual building size (or part of property covered by a structure),
3) the Specific location of each property,
4) most importantly, how the above measure up to YOU.

A property may be worth MUCH more to Person A than to person B.... Demand and Supply.

Ezee, hope the above helps!

R13 and Ehellfire, save yourselves that R70 each time...

 

[GoB]

The estate agents may inflate the selling price to get the mandate.

I once offered 1.1 for a house which had been dropped in price to 1.2. The estate agent refused to accept the offer (then begged me to make the offer formal 2 weeks later).

The thing is that I had since found a better deal, and an offer of 1.15 on an asking price of 1.4 (down from 1.6) was finalised on 1.18.

This was a complete surprise... although I think it was a buyer's market around 2009. Not sure what it is now.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

The estate agents may inflate the selling price to get the mandate.

I once offered 1.1 for a house which had been dropped in price to 1.2. The estate agent refused to accept the offer (then begged me to make the offer formal 2 weeks later).

The thing is that I had since found a better deal, and an offer of 1.15 on an asking price of 1.4 (down from 1.6) was finalised on 1.18.

This was a complete surprise... although I think it was a buyer's market around 2009. Not sure what it is now.

My agent was inexperienced and not good at sales so she told me what the other accepted offer was. The people were struggling to get a bond so I decided to match their offer as we really wanted the house.

The house was in the market for R800K and was already undervalued by R150K as the seller had to sell ASAP. The other couple had offered R735K and I decided not to risk the sale so matched it. Found out afterwards that another guy offered just under R700K and this pissed off the seller.


That said, the day I moved in my neighbor's house went into the market and an competing estate agent who had to wait for the sole mandate to expire, told me the sellers were prepared to accept R820K even though asking was R1 million. The house sold the same day for R1 million.

 

[GoB]

That said, the day I moved in my neighbor's house went into the market and an competing estate agent who had to wait for the sole mandate to expire, told me the sellers were prepared to accept R820K even though asking was R1 million. The house sold the same day for R1 million.

Hope you didn't tell the new owners :`( lol

 

[Ezee]

True, BUT, you can actually see for yourself how much properties in an Area go for....
You go to the valuation roll on the municipal database/ valuation roll.
City of Cape Town's D.base has an option to click on to see sales in the area ;-)
eg. http://web1.capetown.gov.za/web1/gv2012/Sales.aspx?parcelid=cct0000978
Yes, one of those is a house I sold last year.
To determine what a Property is worth TO ME, I used :
1) those valuations,
2) along with those specific property sizes ( you can check that too) as well as actual building size (or part of property covered by a structure),
3) the Specific location of each property,
4) most importantly, how the above measure up to YOU.

A property may be worth MUCH more to Person A than to person B.... Demand and Supply.

Ezee, hope the above helps!

R13 and Ehellfire, save yourselves that R70 each time...

Bunta, thank you.
I see there is similar site for Johannesburg municipality. This will help indeed, and lightstone reports

 

[noxibox]

This is where I disagree: I have flats across the road from me built off the same plans as my house (we live in a neighbourhood built by Denel in the 80's). The levies on those flats is higher than my maintenance budget and rates.

With sectional title it is also always a long drawn out fight to get work done and paid for by the body corporate.

 

[hellfire]

With sectional title it is also always a long drawn out fight to get work done and paid for by the body corporate.

Only if your trustees are useless

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

With sectional title it is also always a long drawn out fight to get work done and paid for by the body corporate.

Best advice my brother gave me was not to buy in sectional title as he regrets it as he went from owning a free standing house to the flat.

 

[hellfire]

Best advice my brother gave me was not to buy in sectional title as he regrets it as he went from owning a free standing house to the flat.

It really depends on what you're looking for in a dwelling. Sectional title isn't for everyone

 

[noxibox]

It really depends on what you're looking for in a dwelling. Sectional title isn't for everyone

Most people buy into it with the mistaken belief that they'll pay their levies every month and repairs that fall outside the median line will be taken care of. Sometimes you get lucky and that is what happens. In my experience though those are the exceptions.

 

[hellfire]

Most people buy into it with the mistaken belief that they'll pay their levies every month and repairs that fall outside the median line will be taken care of. Sometimes you get lucky and that is what happens. In my experience though those are the exceptions.

Fair enough. One should always research before making a big purchase.

 

[Ezee]

Most people buy into it with the mistaken belief that they'll pay their levies every month and repairs that fall outside the median line will be taken care of. Sometimes you get lucky and that is what happens. In my experience though those are the exceptions.

Agreed.

 

[noxibox]

Fair enough. One should always research before making a big purchase.

The only way to do that would be to track down a former owner who doesn't mind talking about the problems. Normally no-one currently owning there would say anything.

 

[itareanlnotani]

I have several sectional title properties.

If you buy sectional title buy into a small block, eg < 9 units.
More than that, and it generally means issues.

Sectional title is pretty maintenance free if you pick a 1940's era block, especially one without an elevator. Levies are higher than maintenance would be, but its fairly easy to rent them out and not do much maintenance other than the odd bit of painting every few years internally. I've been replacing 60 year old geysers in some of mine, and doing up the bathrooms to more modern chinese standards*.

*I used to live overseas in Shanghai, so brought back a lot of stuff I can use for renovation from China. Tons of good quality stuff there, although we only see the cheap crap this side mostly.

I turned this:



Into this last year:



Total cost was < 30k, although I had to pay for a structural engineers report, which was annoying as hell.


Ask to see the body corporate reports for the last few years, and if there were any special levies, or they have any special levies planned. A well run body corporate will have these ready. A badly run one won't..

Also check to see if the body corporate members are complete cnuts, some are. You can generally tell if you talk to them, and get a feel of how they'll be. I have at least one block where they're rather cnuty about certain things (fictional rules that weren't in the rulebook registered with the deeds office), and tried to do some things which were illegal, and I had to throw my lawyers at them.

 

[Ezee]

I have several sectional title properties.

If you buy sectional title buy into a small block, eg < 9 units.
More than that, and it generally means issues.

Sectional title is pretty maintenance free if you pick a 1940's era block, especially one without an elevator. Levies are higher than maintenance would be, but its fairly easy to rent them out and not do much maintenance other than the odd bit of painting every few years internally. I've been replacing 60 year old geysers in some of mine, and doing up the bathrooms to more modern chinese standards*.

*I used to live overseas in Shanghai, so brought back a lot of stuff I can use for renovation from China. Tons of good quality stuff there, although we only see the cheap crap this side mostly.

I turned this:

View attachment 104148

Into this last year:

View attachment 104146

Total cost was < 30k, although I had to pay for a structural engineers report, which was annoying as hell.


Ask to see the body corporate reports for the last few years, and if there were any special levies, or they have any special levies planned. A well run body corporate will have these ready. A badly run one won't..

Also check to see if the body corporate members are complete cnuts, some are. You can generally tell if you talk to them, and get a feel of how they'll be. I have at least one block where they're rather cnuty about certain things (fictional rules that weren't in the rulebook registered with the deeds office), and tried to do some things which were illegal, and I had to throw my lawyers at them.

have to agree abt quality products which we never get exposed to from china.
I am stereo typed to hate body corporates. Spending so much money to buy into section title, then get told what you can or cant do. On the other hand i guess it carries plenty benefits aswell. I am yet to meet a organized body corporate

this whole research can make one paronoid. Lol. Cheers