RE/MAX Premier, which opened its doors on 1 April 2011, is the latest addition to the RE/MAX of Southern Africa family of over 160 franchises, which was recently ranked as the country’s largest real estate brand in a FinWeek survey.
RE/MAX Premier will operate in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs from Rondebosch to Constantia/Tokai and will undoubtedly strengthen the presence of the RE/MAX brand within these areas.With well known property trainer, author and coach Graham Gavin at the helm as Broker/Owner, RE/MAX Premier is ideally positioned to attract experienced property professionals.
Gavin started his real estate career in Durban in 1979 and joined RE/MAX of Southern Africa in 1995 as a founder member and director. He opened the RE/MAX Panache franchise in Durban North in 1996 which, during his time at the helm, grew to three branches and 45 agents. After handing over the Durban North RE/MAX Panache franchise to his son, Grant, in 2006, Gavin operated a successful real estate coaching business. Gavin has since moved to Cape Town to open and manage the RE/MAX Premier franchise. To date RE/MAX Premier has already gained five top sales consultants who have a combined 90 years of real estate experience.
Adrian Goslett, CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa, says the company is proud to have Broker/Owners of Gavin’s calibre as a part of the group. “Leadership from knowledgeable property experts is essential to the ongoing success of each of our offices. We look forward to the continued accomplishments of the RE/MAX Premier office.”Gavin says that the property market in the Southern Suburbs has been active in the first quarter of 2011, notably more so compared to 2010. This is evidenced by the fact that the RE/MAX Premier team, consisting of three agents at the time, concluded five sales in the month of April. “Show days are attracting a good response, however pressure remains on seller’s prices with many homes taking over five months to sell,” says Gavin. “Sellers are starting to price more competitively with current market conditions as this remains critical in securing the right buyer.
That said, we have noticed property investors returning to the market as property still remains a good investment.”Gavin says that the most popular homes in the Southern Suburbs are those with adequate security measures in place with many homeowners installing beams around the property for added protection.In the Southern Suburbs, Gavin says there are four main tiers of pricing, with entry level homes selling between approximately R600 000 and R1,2m. Mid level homes, he says, can sell anywhere from around R1,8m to R3m while the top end homes are priced between approximately R4m and R8m. But Gavin adds another level to the standard three, saying that those Southern Suburb properties that are considered to be luxury homes are priced from R10m and upwards.
Given the diverse nature of these suburbs, their property offerings and extensive amenities, buyers from across the full spectrum are attracted to property investments here, although Gavin notes that schools and access to universities still drives activity in certain areas. Looking forward at property performance over the next three years, Gavin expects the market in his neck of the woods to remain constant with slight improvement by the last quarter of 2011. “We anticipate the upward trend to be more visible from mid 2012, but sellers should remember that motivation is always the key factor in achieving success in life. In fact, for sellers it is the most powerful factor when selling their homes as 65%, of what causes a home to sell today can be attributed to how motivated sellers are to move or sell their property,” Gavin concludes.