This Willowmore home is for sale at R1,8 million through Pam Golding Properties.
For most home buyers value for money is a priority – particularly if they are buying with investment potential in mind or with a view to future retirement.
Buyers are also looking for appealing homes in desirable locations. Perhaps a tall order, to expect to meet all these criteria? Not so, says Wayne Rubidge, Pam Golding Properties’ area principal in the Karoo.
“The Karoo spans vast areas across several regions, and still offers affordable properties which are sound investments and retirement options. Where else can you buy a historic cottage in a great location for R250 000?”
He says many Karoo towns are bustling with activity and are home to new industries that have sprung up as new home owners and business people have moved into the area. For many others the search is on for that ideal, affordable Karoo getaway property.
“Prices of homes are steadily increasing from a low base, with good demand in most towns in the under R500 000price range. However, a wide range of properties in this bracket and with historical significance is still available in most towns, and in some towns homes are fetching millions of rand,” says Rubidge.
He says to find bargain semi- or un-restored Karoo heritage properties you may have to delve further into the Karoo where many towns wait to be ‘discovered’. Stretching across four provinces the Karoo towns that still offer homes at excellent prices are little known places such as Petrusville, Carnarvon, Kenhardt and Merweville in the Western Cape. Here a spectrum of appealing, historic houses cover a broad price range with the most popular lower end between R250 000 and R380 000 up to R1.2 million and even R2.5 million.
“In Merweville and Murraysburg, which are in the Western Cape’s Karoo, affordable options range from a large vacant plot for R40 000 to a three bedroom Victorian cottage on a 2 855 m2 erf in the old part of town priced at R350 000. In Murraysburg, Merweville and other small Karoo towns there aren’t many properties for sale at any given time – and this is another reason why Karoo house prices will increase steadily and offer sound investment potential,” says Rubidge.
He says in addition to important aspects such as location, condition and potential, the possible trimmings and extras to look for in a cheaper investment include yellowwood or Oregon pine floors and stained glass doors, and features included in some homes from the Victorian era such as pressed steel ceilings and the popular verandas with steps integral to the street social scene. Other desirable features are fruit trees, boreholes, leiwater, reservoirs, stone boundary walls and windmills.
Rubidge says some of the areas buyers should consider include the relatively small North Eastern Cape towns of Hofmeyr, Molteno and Steynsberg, where there are active golf and lawn bowling clubs as well as festivals such as the October adventure festivals held in many towns and which include water sports, biking, hiking, 4X4 routes. In these towns prices start from R100 000 and range up to R350 000 for large three bedroom Karoo houses on large erven or even on two or three erven.
“Pam Golding Properties (PGP) is experiencing great interest in Steynsberg, where agents have sold five classic properties over the past three months. Located within driving distance of larger towns such as Gariep and Graaff-Reinet, Grahamstown offers some sound options priced from R90 000 for a small cottage to R250 000 for a large, un-restored house. An excellent buy on the market is a three bedroom artist’s retreat with painted murals and plenty of character priced at R150 000.
“Just north of the Garden Route in the apple producing areas of the Langkloof is the Baviaanskloof wilderness area and its neighbouring towns of Willowmore and Steytlerville. As these are the closest genuine Karoo towns to the Garden Route and Port Elizabeth, it is expected that property buyers will soon start showing interest in these towns.”
This trend is already becoming evident in Willowmore, where PGP reports growing interest in good value-for-money properties as well as luxury homes right on the doorstep of the Baviaanskloof World Heritage site. Such properties include a spacious and rustic five bedroom, three bathroom home with a tennis court and exceptional garden which won the ‘Wen Tuin” Summer Rainfall Karoo garden competition in 2008 and which is priced at R1.8 million.
In Steytlerville about one hour from Port Elizabeth, Rubidge says good quality homes can still be bought for less than R350 000 and one such property on the market is a spacious, three bedroom home with two bathrooms and large stoep and garden for R320 000.
Call Wayne Rubidge on 082 432 9364. email karoo@pamgolding.co.za or visit www.karooproperty.co.za.
