Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa August 2016 | Page 25

Matthew Harvey
Achiever agent in Melville/Westdene
and Auckland Park
Your first property investment and the most
important lessons you learnt

I lived and worked in the UK for five years, saving as
much as I could in order to invest in property on my
return to South Africa. I arrived back in SA in 2006
and bought my first property, an investment property
in Northriding, for R375 000.00. I was very lucky to
find tenants immediately and rented this property out
for R3 500.00 per month. The biggest lessons learnt
when purchasing an investment property is to ensure
that it can be rented for an amount that will cover
your costs.

Your most significant property deal and
what insights can you share

I sold a beautiful residential property last year in
Melville for R2,3m. The property was correctly
priced at the outset and had a lot of appeal and wow
factor. We also had a motivated seller, having bought
elsewhere. What I took from this experience was how
important it is to agree a market related price with a
motivated seller, regardless of the pros or cons of the
home. Price counselling with back-up data is essential
and I have made this my main thrust in my business
going forward.

Career History

My first and only company as a Real Estate agent
has been Seeff Randburg Branch. I joined them in
2007 and have been happily selling property in the
Melville, Westdene and Auckland Park areas since
then. I feel that the support I receive is excellent and
certainly helps to make my business more successful.
www.reimag.co.za

Seeff is very pro-active with regard to back office
systems and cutting edge applications, I believe that
this gives me an advantage in the market place. I can
see myself here and hopefully being more and more
successful for many years to come.

What opportunities do you foresee in your
sector in the coming year?
As for the year ahead - I feel the market is in a hiatus
at the moment due to a number of factors, seasonal,
economic and political and with elections coming up.
I foresee an improvement in the market from Spring
with more homes for sale and some pent-up demand.
However all things considered I would say that prices
will remain fairly flat for the foreseeable future.

TOP FIVE TIPS FOR HOME SELLING
1 Price It Right - it is important to price your home
appropriately and your home’s price needs to be in line
with other comparable homes in the area.
2 Declutter Your Home - make sure your house is clean and
tidy
3 Remember The Outside Of Your Property Too - the facade
and garden should look just as good as the interior.
4 Have as many show days as possible - don’t let a potential
buyer miss the opportunity of viewing your house on a
show day
5 Be Available - be flexible and allow your agent every
opportunity to introduce buyers to the property.

RESOURCES
Seef
AUGUST 2016 SA Real Estate Investor

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