The West Rand has a bit of a bad rep. Those that live in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg look down on those from the west, and anywhere other than the north with an element of disdain. There are, however, plenty of attractive areas in the west, some at the upper end of the market and other firmly in the mid market.
Horison Park, is one of those suburbs firmly entrenched in the mid market, with some properties edging towards the higher end. With an average freehold selling price of around R1.1 million and a relatively low turnover rate, 10 out of the total stock of 235 units sold in the past 12 months, this is not a suburb where this change quickly.
Out of those 10 properties one sold for R800 000 and one for R1.55 million leaving the rest in the R800 000 to R1.5 million band. With an average municipal valuation of R1.24 million the average selling price is slightly below the municipal valuation giving an indication that there is some room for appreciation in the near term.
Horison Park also has a slight older average owner with close to 25 percent of residents over 65. Buyers are slightly younger, with almost 30 percent in the 50-65 age group and around 60 percent between 35 and 50. This would indicate that although there is a slightly younger profile of owners the suburb does not attract buyers from the youngest demographic, probably because of the lack of sectional title units in the area.
Another issue of note is that more than 50 percent of owners have been in the area for more than 11 years, indicating that this is an area where people move and stay for an extended period of time. With Ontdekkers Road on its doorstep Horison Park has the benfit of easy access to one of the major arterial routes of the West Rand.
The suburb itself is just a hop, skip and a jump from Westgate and the Princess Crossing shopping centre as well as the Horison View Shopping Centre. Princess Crossing, with a Pick n Pay Hypermarket is slightly newer than the more venerable Westgate but offers a faster shopping experience than the regional mall. There is also a good Medi-Cross Medical centre at Princess Crossing catering for most day-to-day medical needs.
Education-wise the west there are private schools such as Trinity House in Little Falls and Maragon and the [Kings School](http://Kings School) in Ruimsig and government schools such as Westridge High School and Florida Park High as well as Hoerskool Monument all within easy reach.
