Although Summerstrand, a suburb of Port Elizabeth has grown enormously over the past 10 years, those living in this popular suburb as well as other residents in PE have fiercely fought off any development on the beach side of this area, preserving the natural beauty of the beach and its surrounds.
Jaco Rademeyer from Jaco Rademeyer Estates says that the tranquillity of the beachfront adjacent to the suburb makes it a very popular area for potential buyers and investors. “Various water sport competitions, for instance the annual Iron Man Competition, and numerous other international sporting events take place in the vicinity. The other aspect that continues to attract residents to the area is everything they need in their daily lives is virtually on their doorsteps.”
In addition to a number of modern shopping and medical centres in the area, the suburb also boasts hotels and restaurants as well as a casino complex. The area features both a primary and a secondary multilingual and fully integrated school. The Nelson Mandela University is also situated in in the suburb.
Lightstone statistics reflect that there have been 180 transfers in the area over the past 12 months. The average price paid for full title property was R1 767-million while the sectional title average came in at R1.222-million. Unlike many other areas the sales of sectional title units and freehold property were pretty much on a par with one another.
Rademeyer says that part of the areas attraction lies in the variety of property available. “Summerstrand is one of the very few suburbs in the country that caters for buyers the middle class segment as well as the more upmarket buyer. Buyers are spoilt for choice and while there are one bedroom flats available for around the R500 000 mark, there are also units in the high end price range that sell for anything from R4-million to R14-million.”
There is a wide selection of property to suit every need including retirement villages. The various types of property available appeals to people of all age groups and the statistics show that 28 percent of the population falls into the over 65 age category while 22 percent of recent buyers are aged between 35 to 49 years of age.
It would seem, however, that the recession and subsequent economic fallout continues to affect upmarket seaside property prices in the area. Rademeyer says that the highest price that his agency attained for a seaside home last year was R3.9-million. “The property is situated some 200 metres from the beachfront and I estimate that the same home would have sold for approximately R6-million two years ago.”
It is all not doom and gloom. The statistics reflect that overall although price averages have dropped slightly since 2007, the percentage drop is negligible when compared to other areas of the country. In 2004, for example, a sectional title unit would have set you back R814 000 and a freehold property R784 000. The average price attained has all but doubled since then.