Cape Town's 10 best-selling neighbourhoods

The FNB Property Barometer data continues to rate the Western Cape as the best performing property market overall, but is now pointing to a cooling period, with potential buyers beginning to walk away from anything that seems overpriced, according to Seef.

Overall, the pace of sales is faster with property spending just eight weeks on average on the market compared to last year’s 10 weeks – based on Propstats data of participating agency sales, said Seef.

A recent FNB report noted that the national average for how long it takes to sell a property now stands at over 15 weeks (105 days) on the market, two weeks longer than last year and three weeks longer than the benchmark average of around 12 weeks, according to Seef’s regional general manager for the Southern Region, Tony Ketcher.

The time on the market is influenced by the property value and quantum of stock, and Ketcher said many Cape suburbs are faring notably better, with properties still selling within 1-4 weeks in many areas. Here are Cape Town’s 10 best-selling neighbourhoods.

1 City Bowl

Overall the fastest selling neighbourhood, the City Bowl takes just 36 days (versus 44 in 2016), selling almost three times as fast as the national average. The averages price stands at R3.9 million, 15% higher than in 2016, but prices are coming under pressure as the average difference between the asking and selling prices (price gap) has increased from 5.3% to 7.8%, Seef said.

2 Blouberg

Second place is Blouberg, where it takes about 49 days to sell, twice as fast as the national average. The average price stands at R2 million, 11% higher than last year and the price gap is only slightly bigger at 4.7% versus 4.7%.

Clinton Martle, Seeff licensee, said the affordability for such a sought-after coastal location and influx of buyers from across the city and country remains a good story for the area.

3 Southern Suburbs

Despite the challenging economic climate, properties are selling twice as fast as in 2016, spending just 50 days on the market in the Southern Suburbs. The average selling price is also slightly up to R3.5 million (vs R3.4 million) and the price gap only marginally bigger at 6.6% (vs 6.2%), the property group said.

4 Constantiaberg

Seeff’s licensee for the area of Constantiaberg, James Lewis, noted that the area is also still selling well. Here, properties are spending 51 days on the market and selling for an average price of R4.5 million, versus R4.4 million, and a price gap of 7.1% versus 7.5%.

5 Atlantic Seaboard

According to Seeff’s sales director for the area, the Atlantic Seaboard property market continues to hold out well, despite its status as the most expensive area in the city and country.

Given the overall more expensive prices, it is expected that the area would rank a little lower down and therefore sits in about fifth place with the average time on the market up slightly to 68 days while the average selling price is up by more than one million to R9 million.

6 False Bay

The False Bay area now takes about 77 days on average to sell. The average selling price is up by as much as 27% and now stands at R2.8 million, Seeff said.

Most of the northern suburbs continue to report good demand for well-priced properties. Convineint location paired with affordability is a big driver for areas like Bothasig, Edgemead, Monte Vista and Panorama.

7 Panorama