15 Feb 2013
MORNINGSIDE, SANDOWN AND STRATHAVON. How to unlock your property potential whether owning or investing...
HISTORY
Sandton is a vast residential and business town north of Johannesburg. It was formed on the 1 July 1969 and was mainly made up of small holdings what would the original town planners have said today seeing it as arguably the most influential economic hub on the African continent.
Early signs have shown that the ape man crossed our roads 2,3 million years ago as well as through the Stone and Iron age there were also a few visitors. In the 1830’s the Voortrekkers established the first demarcated farm areas and the whole area was split into 5 farms with our areas being within the Zandfontein farm (hence the name Sandton). There is a memorial of the original farm owners that still exists.
In 1979 Sandton Town Council ended the rural phase and being a mainly “mink and manure” area it quickly became known as a “smart address”. Sandton City was opened in 1973 and by 1994 and by 2000 twenty percent of SA’s top 300 companies housed their headquarters in Sandton and with the relocation of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) many others like Investec, MTN, SAB, RMB to name a few followed suit.
Residentially the area comprised mainly of houses and stand alone townhouse complexes (which were specifically designed as small homes for older people in which to scale down to).
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TODAY
Sandton 2010 is the hub of SA society with all major events being held here at the magnificent Sandton Convention Centres and all the major Hotels and superb shopping centres like Nelson Mandela Square (formerly Sandton Square), Sandton City about to be totally revamped, Village Walk, the new Morningside shopping centre to name a few. Coupled with fantastic schools like Redhill, Crawford and Grayston preparatory and catering for most religious denominations within walking distance, Sandton is for everyone.
Residentially things are very different many rezoning and sub-divisions have taken shape and over 100 sectional title complexes now exist and over 50 cluster complexes are up and probably double that are being planned for. Multi-storey apartment blocks like the Michelangelo, Sunset Towers and Green park, the Sandton Emperor and Regent to name but a few light up the night sky in a Manhattan style sensational living spaces where the finishes from top to toe are of the highest quality and communal facilities and added value make the prices of R40000 per square metre and more very attainable and highly likely making it congruent with 1st world values.
Howeve,r for young up and coming people the possibilities of buying into the area are good with 1 bedroom units being sold from R700000 up and a large percentage of sectional title sales being between R1 to R2m, allowing people to have all the convenience and amenities at a reasonable level. Houses are fewer than before and clusters remain the secure choice, and a large percentage of old houses are being sub-divided into cluster homes where prices range from R1,5m for a tiny 150sqm cluster on a postage stamp ground right up to the bigger clusters or residential estates where homes of 1500sqm plus on 2000sqm stands can be bought in excess of R20m. The main market though is for clusters that are set on 500sqm of land and are about 350sqm under roof and range from R3,2m to the R5m range and one can be confident of getting a 10 yr or less property. Houses remain in demand for the bigger families with young children and even with the crime having been higher than 20yrs ago local security policing agencies like GAP have reduced crime and incidents are very. In addition the boomed off areas have helped too and a house for less than R3m is very hard to find.
FUTURE
Taking a look at current market trends and the amount of money being invested into the area and being the most sought after address one can only believe that investment in the area can only soar. Even through the 2008 recession prices dipped only slightly and even some people made money in those tough time,s hence showing the incredible demand in the area. Renovation, rezoning and sub-division are on the up and newer and more high tech designs and value added amenities are coming every day e.g. The Green Park eco friendly complex and the new DaVinci building underline this. The immense stress and population increases have led to hectic traffic patterns which makes it very important to be close to business, as it can take up to 2hrs from Fourways in the morning, so people are making the move to Sandown/Strathavon and Morningside now whilst it’s still affordable. Old buildings are being knocked down and rebuilt and great capital gains are to be made from such redevelopment.
The trend will only continue ..... so hurry and stake your claim in the platinum mile soon before it’s too late!!!
For all information regarding this article and for any property needs that you have whether selling, buying, renting or just for information purposes please contact our Director Brian Chernotsky 083 675 8072 or at the ChernoDavis offices on 011 783 1334 or email on [email protected] – we sell property passionately and personally.