MOSSEL BAY NEWS - With remote working becoming commonplace since the onset of Covid-19, more people are moving to seaside towns and areas usually considered holiday destinations and Mossel Bay is a choice place to be.
Also, estate agents believe the high rates of violent crime in Gauteng are driving people to the south.
Ena Jacobs, of Dana Bay Properties, says: "Mossel Bay is a safe environment."
Jacobs continues: "We have good schools, good hospitals and excellent medical facilities. Also, Mossel Bay is close to Knysna, George and the lakes if you want to go for a Sunday drive.
"You can pop over to Oudtshoorn on the Robertsons Pass, where there are many places to lunch and things to see."
Jacobs points out: "Mossel Bay has everything a city has, but not with the confinements of a city or the disadvantages of a city. Much new development is taking place," Jacobs says.
"Existing properties are increasing in price because of demand."
Much choice
Jacobs points out that there is much choice. "You can live at the seaside, in a golf estate or inland in eco-estates, nature estates or security estates. There is this choice all the way down to Boggomsbaai. There is also a variety of retirement villages with high care, which are well sought after."
Carl Coetzee, CEO of BetterBond, says: "Homeowners, now able to work remotely, are making lifestyle choices when considering where to buy a home. Quality of life, peace of mind and falling under a municipality that operates efficiently are among the key considerations for buyers wanting to invest in property.
"Mossel Bay ticks many of these boxes. It offers natural beauty in abundance, has a strong sense of community and is one of the best-run municipalities in the country. Independent rating agency Ratings Afrika has named it South Africa's most financially sustainable municipality."
While many parts of the Western Cape enjoyed massive growth in house sales in January and February this year, Mossel Bay is enjoying a boom in property sales and rentals.
Just Property has seen a significant increase in the rand value of deals done in Mossel Bay since the start of 2021, as well as the number of sales. "We attribute this to massive semigration from Gauteng, and we are seeing considerable interest from other provinces in the rental space," says Cobus van den Berg, Just Property franchisee for Mossel Bay.
Demand
Mossel Bay still offers value for money. A three-bedroom home with a double garage sells for about R1.8 million. Property24 notes that the average asking price for a Mossel Bay home has inched up from R1.55 million to R1.64 million this year. But, most properties sell for around the R1 million mark, according to the portal.
Indicative of the semigration trend is the changing age of recent buyers. According to Property24, more than 40% are between the ages of 50 and 64, a growing number - almost 30% - are in their mid-thirties to late forties, suggesting that these are families looking to live in the area.
Those unable to buy are opting to rent. TPN data shows demand has pushed up rental values in both full-title and sectional title properties. This means that rental yields remain solid at just over 8% and 7% for full title and sectional title properties respectively.
According to Lightstone property data, the price premium between coastal properties and their inland counterparts continues to widen. In November, coastal properties' inflation was up 5.5% compared with inland inflation of 3.9%.
"The call of the coast is certainly growing stronger as people move away from the office to work remotely," says Coetzee.
"Many of the coastal towns once considered stops en route to a holiday destination, are now being seen as prime residential nodes offering value for money and quality of life."
- Source: Irvine Partners
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