TECHNOLOGY
Getting to Know Buyers
Using technology to understand the market M
aking use of social media metrics , PropertyFox compiled its second annual property report . By identifying the most hashtagged suburbs , the report aims to identify which trends are seeing growth in today ’ s hyper-connected world . Around 60 000 hashtags , posts , and comments were analysed to unveil how South Africans feel about property and specific property markets .
An interesting emerging trend in this year ’ s report , says Crispin Inglis , co-founder and director of PropertyFox , is “ the rise of outlying areas like Sunningdale , Centurion and Ballito .” According to Inglis , this ties in with what we know about rising property prices and resident ’ s desire to still be within an accessible distance of city centres . Ashley James , co-founder and PropertyFox COO , adds that their research is a good way to gather more insight into South African ’ s thoughts : “ It ’ s great to see that South Africans ’ social media activity is spreading the love for some of the traditionally lesser-known suburbs ,” he says .
It shouldn ’ t come as much of a surprise that Cape Town walks away with the crown for the most-loved city on social media . The report did , however , reveal some interesting upcoming trends . James says : “ Interestingly , the Insta trends are exactly those we ’ ve seen in the physical property market . Every area gaining popularity on social media is also rising in fame as a prospective hot spot for property investment . These trends probably perpetuate each other .”
Johannesburg
The most popular area in Johannesburg for the second year in a row , is Sandton . Average prices of a freehold property in the suburb come in at R2.8m , up from R2.75 in the previous year . In second place we see Soweto , with an average y / y property grows of 1.6 %. Prospective reasons for the property price boom : urbanisation , the rise of the black middle class , and young professionals moving back to Soweto from the suburbs because they miss its upbeat edge . Its insta fame correlates with a greater trend of increased interest in property investment in the area .
Durban
Over in Durban , the most popular area is Umhlanga , with an average freehold property selling for R4.8m . The area has seen a 2 % decrease from the previous year . Interestingly , in the previous report , the top neighbourhoods ( aside from Umhlanga ) in Durban were : Westville , Durban North and Musgrave – none of which feature in this report . Ballito comes in second , with an average price of R2.9m , showing a 3.6 % y / y growth . Pinetown achieved the third most popular spot in the report , showing an impressive 27 % y / y growth .
Cape Town
The Mother City ’ s most popular neighbourhood remains Camps Bay . Here , the average price for a sectional title property is R9.7m , showing 22.8 % growth . The second spot belongs to Hout Bay , with a y / y property growth of 8.8 %. Zooming in on the Southern Suburbs , the report identifies Constantia as the most popular area . Over in the Northern Suburbs , Durbanville takes the top spot . Prices in parts of the CBD are soaring – a 2-bedroom house in Tamboerskloof goes for R2.9m , a 1-bedroom apartment in Vredehoek goes for R1.5m , and a 1-bedroom in Oranjezicht goes for R1.9m . But there are other interesting neighbourhoods in the city bowl . The Bo-Kaap claims the first spot , with average y / y growth of 40 %. Other notable suburbs include Observatory , Woodstock , and Mowbray . Moving further from the city centre , the West Coast has also seen growing interest from buyers . Bloubergstrand has seen a y / y growth of 13.16 , while Milnerton boasts a 12 % increase .
SOURCES PropertyFox , METRIC , Lightstone
22 APRIL / MAY 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine