Rare Sale In Execution In Sea Point Spotted

Sea Point Reader-in-Chief PJ writes:

Spotted a rare notice of a Sale In Execution on an apartment in Sea Point in a block called Oakholm. Usually the process never gets that far because a buyer usually steps in beforehand. Not this time...

Your Architecture Is Sad: Sea Point

There's bad architecture... and then there's sad architecture. This 3 bed house in Sea Point sent in by reader PJ is a prime example of that. PJ writes:

Sea Point is home to a fantastic mixture of architecture. But look at this POS. It's two concrete boxes stacked on top of each other. They'll call it "modern", I call it cheap.

Sea Point: 2 Years = R40 000 Appreciation

In Feb 2009 this 2 bed/90m2 apartment was asking R1 150 000. Just under 2 years later a 2/3 bed/110m2 apartment in the same block has an asking price of R1 195 000. That 1.5%/year capital appreciation is about what you'd earn with your money in a transmission account (and no levies!).

Ballinrobe: Take The Fork Out! It's Back!

Much maligned (at least here) development The Ballinrobe in Sea Point seems to be back in action after construction stopped because they violated height restrictions. Sea Point reporter JP writes:

Drove past The Ballinrobe the other day and looks like building is back on. Guess the developers managed enough snot and trane to get City Council to retroactively approve their height restrictions.

This place was supposed to be finised over a year ago and now it looks like they're going to miss t he world cup tourists!

JP also sent a link to an ad from Ballinrobe on Gumtree. Read it and smell the desperation:

The developers are willing to combine Unit 103 and Unit 104 or Unit 104 & Unit 105 – Only possible with a full commitment from YOU!

Balllinrobe: Stick A Fork In It... It's Done

Regular Sea Point reader PJ writes:

Construction on the Ballinrobe on High Level Rd looks to have stalled. The site is locked up and trash is piling up behind the gate. Stick a fork in it... it's done. It's now just a giant hulking concrete jumble of boxes visually stinking up High Level Rd.

Ballinrobe: Still Not Finished

Our regular Sea Point writer PJ write in about the Ballinrobe development, which we last heard about in August 2008:

Guess what, it's a year and a half later and Ballinrobe is still a concrete shell uglying up High Level Rd. Looks like my prediction of them finishing it in June 2010, 2 years after they were supposed to finish, is more prescient than ever. I wonder if all of the off plan buyers are still alive it's been so long...

Rent Vs Buy: Sea Point - Quiet Road = Silent Profit

Here's a 2 bed apartment in Sea Point in a 'quiet road' (does such a thing exist in Sea Point?) on the market for R980 000. It achieves a gross rental of R3 900/month. With a purchase price of R980 000, monthly payment on a 100% bond will be R12543/month and the difference between rental and bond payment is R8643, well over twice the gross rental (and the net rental income would probably be closer to 2.5 times if note more). Here's the income/yield graph:

Buying in cash you max ROI is 4.78%, about 5%-6% then leaving your money in the bank. With a 50% downpayment you still need 2.8% capital appreciation to not lose any money and you'll only be cash flow positive with a 68% downpayment (over R675 000!). Add in expenses like rates, maintenance and vacancy and the results are even worse

Sea Point: Don't Be Fooled By The Price - It's A Slum

Our regular Sea Point reporter PJ writes:

I saw this ad on Gumtree for a 90m2 flat in Sea Point going for R1.5 million. Don't let the price fool you, that block is a slum. I doubt the going rentals in that place will cover a quarter of the bond payment and maintenance costs (if there are any) must be huge.

What that photo doesn't show is immediately to your left is a Shoprite and directly across the road are a liquor store, both the biggest bergie magnets in Sea Point with various dodgy characters hanging around morning, noon and night.

Rent Vs Buy: Sea Point

Here's a bachelor flat in Sea Point on the market for R795 000, with a gross rental income of R3200. With a 100% bond your monthly payment is R10468/month, with the difference between that and the rental income being R7 268 - more than 2.27 times the rental itself! Here's the payment and yield graph:

Pay for the place in cash and you can expect a 4.83% return on investment. About 7% below what your money would earn sitting in the bank. Just to get cash flow positive you need to put down R551 984m a hair under 70%, as deposit. Put down 50% deposit and you still need over 3% capital appreciation to not lose any money at all. Take of rates, levies, maintenance and vacancy costs and the returns drop even more.

Sea Point Anecdote

Reader KS writes:

A duplex round the corner from me was on the market for four months. Last week a SOLD sign was on the wall. This week... it's back on sale.

Rent Vs Buy: Sea Point Quickie

1 bed flat, R750 000 asking price, R3500 monthly rent.

Ballinrobe: Will They Ever Finish It?

Reader PJ writes in:

I drive past Ballinrobe, a new development being built on High Level Rd in Sea Point every day. The site was empty for at least a year before they started building and in the past year they have been building all they seem to have put in is some foundation pillars. I have yet to see more than 4 workers on the site at any one time. The past two weeks all I saw was two workers who didn't seem to be doing much.

The original completion date was supposed to be June 2008 but they've pushed it back to June 2009, although at the rate they are going June 2010 seems more realistic. The sign on the site claims it's 70% sold, 100% I would guess are speculators. This place must've gone on sale in 2006 at the height of the boom and is going to be completed right in the middle of the property bust. If anything with the lack of workers and progress it looks to me like they're trying to draw out construction so it's completed when (they hope) the property market recovers.

Any readers out there have any more information about this place?

The Estate Agent Cull Hits Sea Point

The Atlantic Seaboard is supposed to be one of the hot spots of the property market in South Africa, supposedly immune to the turbulence elsewhere. But down on the street it's not so rosy. Reader PJ writes:

Took a walk down Sea Point Main Rd and saw that two agencies have recently closed (International Realtors, Wendy Machanik Properties) and one moved to a smaller office (Lew Geffen Sotheby's).