Cape Town Property Prices hit record high.

This is a bit of a sore point, because I have missed the property boom on four continents now, well not missed exactly, I was present, but failed to commit. I always get the feeling that the price has peaked, but no it just keeps climbing. I am also a bargain hunter and a house that was R100K cheaper last year, certainly doesn’t feel like a bargain.

Anyhoo the property market in South Africa, has been booming for the last 5 years, and the kind of home I was expecting to purchase when we got back 2 years ago, seems pretty unaffordable right now. House prices in 2006 for Cape Town have grown 15% and sales have grown from R16B to nearly R18B.

My proven unreliable prediction for the property market is: House prices will stagnate until late 2008, then start to gain quite rapidly in anticipation for the 2010 games and for a few years to follow.

Taken from IOL: ” While prices rose, houses took longer to sell – an average of 86 days in February against 74 in January and 61 a year ago. Houses in up-market areas such as the Atlantic Seaboard, the City Bowl and Hout Bay generally took longest to sell – up to 176 days – while those in more affordable areas like Parow, Goodwood, Bellville, Oostenberg and the south-eastern suburbs were snapped up in 31 to 57 days.

The area with the greatest sales value was Constantiaberg with a gross value of R208-million from 74 houses and averaging R2 816 000. The southern suburbs generated R181-million of sales from 73 houses, averaging R2 477 000.

The Atlantic Seaboard reported 22 house sales for a total of R103 535 000 and an average of R4 706 000, the most expensive in the Cape.”