To say that Jeffreys Bay boomed during the economic upturn in the mid-2000s is a bit of an understatement. Previously regarded as a prime holiday destination, the area came into its own as both a mecca for holiday home owners and the ideal place in which to live on a permanent basis. As a result, this beautiful spot on South Africa’s eastern seaboard became one of the fastest growing urban areas in the Eastern Cape.
Perfect swells abound...
Situated a mere hour from the bustling metropolis of Port Elizabeth, this once small seaside village managed to ride the economic downturn quite well until fairly recently but, according to statistics sourced from Lightstone, property sales and values have taken a serious knock during the last year.
The stats reveal that there have been 330 transfers in the town itself in the last 12 months, and although these figures are fairly impressive given the current economic climate, this is a far cry from the 1 269 sales attained in 2004. The average price paid thus far in 2012 for a property falling into the freehold sector comes in at R618 000, down by just over R200 000 on average when compared to the R814 00 paid in 2011. Sectional title sales seem to have weathered the storm slightly better, reflecting a price average of R575 000 for the first quarter of 2012, only a slight reduction on the R623 000 paid in 2011.
Although the figures paint a fairly bleak picture, there are suburbs in Jeffreys Bay that are faring better in terms of price average. Wave Crest has had only 12 transfers registered in the last 12 months, all of which were freehold properties. The average price attained in 2011 in this area was R1.378-million. That said, median price values appear to have peaked in this particular suburb in 2010, when property fetched around the R1.4-million mark.
Paradise Beach on the other hand has seen a total of 42 transfers in the last year, with price averages ranging from as low as R401 000 to just over R1-million. The highest price paid for a home in this area was R3.4-million.