Riverclub retains its investment appeal

In the last few years, demand for residential property in Riverclub has exceeded supply due to the suburb's proximity to the Sandton CBD and all up-market amenities that make for a sought after lifestyle.

Martin Lacey and Quenton de Kock, estate agents of Leigh Nationlink who specialise in selling Riverclub properties, report that most buyers in area are attracted to the suburb because of its convenient location and reasonably sized gardens, suitable for the growing family.

For the family oriented buyer there is also an excellent range of schools in the area including Redhill, Crawford, St Stithians and the French school Lycee Jules Verne.

The lack of traffic congestion is an important consideration for many buyers. There are three mobility roads dissecting Riverclub namely Coleraine, Ballyclare and Outspan. "Obviously these roads are busy during normal peak times due mainly to thoroughfare traffic coming from further north; however this essentially adds only a few extra minutes on to the commuting time," comments Lacey.

The area has a mixture of townhouses, traditional family homes situated on approximately 2000sqm stands, and in recent times, up-market cluster developments which sell for between R2,5m and R9m.

The most recent developments in Riverclub have been clusters such as River Club Country Estate, Idle Wilds and Everglades. De Kock says that two new homes have also been built on the upmarket Poplar Avenue, one of which is on the market at R6,9m.

It is not surprising that there is very little vacant land in Riverclub, however Lacey notes that some sub-divisions have been approved for further development. "If more sub-division approvals take place, this could lead to an interesting new trend for the Riverclub property market."

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What makes the Riverclub residential area such a highly desirable location for investment is most definitely the recorded capital growth on homes. "According to Knowledge Factory's SAPTG (Deeds office figures), the one-year growth trend for full title homes in River Club is 58.67%. This is a phenomenal growth rate and is indicative of the demand for property in the area," notes de Kock, who went on to cite more statistics from SAPTG:

During the 2004 to 2005 period, there were 92 full title sales that took place in the area, at an average selling price of just below R1,4m. During the 2005 to current period, there have been 65 full title sales that took place, at an average selling price of just over R2,1m.

So the appreciation on homes looks positive for buyers, although the sales turnover is somewhat slower than before. And in fact Lacey and De Kock attribute this relatively low turnover not to lack of demand but to the fact that many property owners are tending to renovate their present home rather than move.

That aside, the Leigh Nationlink team have been part of a few unique sales in recent times. For example, says Lacey: "We sold the same property three times between January 2004 and September 2005, for R1,6m, R1,8m and R2,2m respectively."

In summary, Riverclub is a well established, stable and sought after suburb, and the Leigh Nationlink team believe that future demand will continue to exceed supply. "This essentially means that properly priced properties will sell in a relatively short time period," concludes de Kock.