View across Plett bay towards Robberg from Signal Hill
The Plettenberg Bay property market has just surpassed the magic R1bn turnover mark for the year. Kevin Engelsman, Seeff’s licensee for the area, says that this is indeed a milestone in view of the prevailing economic climate.
The popularity of Plett just continues to rise, says Engelsman. “Aside from an influx of new residents as part of the migration to the Western Cape, we have seen a notable increase in demand for holiday and retirement accommodation in the town. Buyers and holiday makers from Gauteng areas such as Johannesburg and Pretoria are especially keen right now.”
Plettenberg Bay now has a busy commercial centre, good infrastructure and schools. Main Street is lined with malls, boutiques, restaurants and other services. For everything else, there is the big Market Square Mall on Beacon Way. There is water aplenty. In addition to the long coastline, there is also the Keurbooms River that runs through the town, providing further properties with fabulous water views.
The town is also close to Knysna and an excellent base for those working in the area. George, the main commercial centre for the Garden Route, is also only about an hour and a half away.
Engelsman says that the Garden Route property market in general remains upbeat. “We are even finding Capetonians looking to move here now. More than half of all property in the area have been in the same hands for longer than 8-10 years.
Buyers are a wide mix, from local residential to holiday and second home buyers from across the country. There is also a good mix of ages, although the more expensive homes tend to be bought by older buyers.
“In the last few years, we have seen an uptick in sales above the R5m to R10m price band. That said, part of the attraction for the town is that it offers something for every buyer and budget.
“About 65% of all property in is full title, predominantly houses that range from modest and well-priced in the R1.2m to R2.2m range.” Upmarket areas and larger houses though tend to range to about R6m on average.
There are also a number of security complexes and estates that offer a mix of property, priced from around R600,000 at the lower end. Luxury estate houses though range upwards of R4m to around R8m on average. Luxury beach houses, especially those around Beachy Head, Whale Rock Ridge and Lookout Beach can range to as much as R20m to R40m.
There is still plenty of vacant land for sale, often at very reasonable prices starting from as low as R200 000 to R400 000, says Engelsman.
Getting to the town is now a whole lot easier with weekly flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town and of course, it is under six hour’s drive from Cape Town and about twelve hours from Johannesburg by car.
Holiday makers tend come down for the whole month in December and as often as possible during the year.
It is also the top spot for the annual matric holidays, known as the Plett Rage.
The warm ocean, excellent weather and healthy climate makes it ideal for holiday and retirement buyers.
Article posted by George Herald
