Rawson Properties Ballito

The Rawson Property Group’s footprint in KwaZulu-Natal will have become significantly bigger this year when they officially open new franchises for both sales and rentals in the fast growing, increasingly popular KZN North Coast precinct of Ballito.

The new franchisees are Johan van Tonder, Roelof Faul, They have between them some 35 years of property marketing experience.

Ballito has in the last decade undergone a huge transformation. Being 35 km from the centre of Durban, it was previously seen largely as an upmarket holiday area, hot and humid and very relaxing in summer and pleasantly mild in winter.”

The area has always been known for its beautiful beaches, superb golf courses, excellent fishing and a range of other outdoor activities. The annual Billabog Pro Surfing competition did much to put Ballito on the map.

Today it is accepted that Ballito is not just a holiday destination but also an exceptionally convenient spot from which to commute countrywide (the new King Shaka airport is only 24 km away) as well as to other KZN business districts such as Umhlanga (30 kms away). In its own right the area is also seeing a ± 12% growth in local businesses, many decentralising from the increasingly booked out Durban and Umhlanga areas. These businesses are providing job opportunities to a number of people.

In addition Ballito is now benefitting from the fact that in Umhlanga most of the gated estates are sold out and other residential stock is in short supply.

In the public’s mind Ballito is today particularly well known on account of its own gated estates, some of which – Zimbali, Simbithi and Brettonwood in particular – are recognised internationally as being of an exceptionally high standard. Homes in these can have values of up to R35 million and they attract not only Gauteng and Durban buyers but also UK and European buyers, who last year were responsible for nearly 10% (value wise) of all residential sales in Ballito.

A high percentage (perhaps 15%) of today’s buyers in Ballito are looking for buy-to-let properties – especially sectional title units. This is because rentals have been recently rising at over 10% per annum across the board. The market is fuelled not just by the massive influx of holidaymakers looking for accommodation (which each year is fully booked out over the summer season) but also by the many people who under the stricter criteria now applied by banks to their borrowers no longer qualify for a bond and have therefore to rent, sometimes for a very long period.

Rents in Ballito can vary from R4,500 per month for a bachelor unit to R20,000 to R25,000 for a home in some of the security estates. The big demand, however, remains for homes outside the estates, generally those with two or three bedrooms, and here rentals are usually pitched between R8,000 and R10,000 per month.

8% to 10% per annum price rises experienced in the Ballito residential property sector since 2011 are almost certain to continue, even if interest rates rise slightly over the next year.