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PROPERTY TALK
For the Buyer
Two factors should be top of your focus when looking for a property— where you want to buy and for how much.
The most important driver of demand and value growth, is location and this is the golden rule world-wide across all property types. Locations also does not mean that it has to be on the coast or overlooking a golf course. A middleincome home in a suburb with good transport, schools and facilities can be just as good an investment.
If it is your first home, then the location will depend on whether you have a particular liking or even affinity for an area, but also how accessible your place of work will be from the area, especially given the rising traffic. The second important factor will be affordability and this is where buyers need to look beyond the simple maths of the purchase price as there are transaction and acquisition costs that do not add value to the property.
It is all fine and well to say that you should buy close to work, but can you in fact afford to do so? This then makes transport an important consideration. You could for example live in a more affordable area provided that it has a good transport infrastructure so that you are able to work anywhere in and around the city.
The advice is to always buy in the best possible area that you can afford. The choice of area will depend entirely on your needs, but it is always a good idea to keep your eye on some key attributes when it comes to choosing a location or area. A suburb with good transport infrastructure allows for convenience; whether it be in the road infrastructure or the public transport offerings. Suburbs with good schools remain desirable which means that one should purchase a property based on some forward thinking. Suburbs that offer lifestyle benefits or services such as shopping, gyms or more lavish estates such as a Golf Estate or even security.
Suburbs with good capital growth are becoming highly desirable in Port Elizabeth at current due to Port Elizabeth generally having been behind the property trends on a national scale. We have seen significant growth in a short space of time in certain suburbs as long as the property has been maintained and had some updating performed— particularly in the Kitchen and Bathroom spaces.
Handy Tips
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Consider the area you are intending buying in and its potential growth.
� Consider what is in the area( Eg. Schools, Transport routes, lifestyle facilities)
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Enquire about potential growth in the area. A good Realtor should carry local knowledge on what changes are expected in the local market.
For more advice on property options and the due process of buying,
selling and investing …
Marc van Heerden Cell: 073 198 9369 Tel: 041 360 0365 marcv @ sothebysrealtype. co. za www. sothebysrealty. co. za Each office is independently owned and operated
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