Gauteng remains the top choice among millennial buyers, with affordable properties in the R450,000 to R1.2m bracket seeing the bulk of activity. According to Seeff Property Group chairman Samuel Seeff, millennials buyers are buying property despite the popular perception that they would rather rent. He says it’s no surprise. “We are in the ‘perfect storm’ for young homebuyers who are using the many benefits of buying now.” These benefits include the transfer duty saving on properties below R1m, favourable mortgage lending conditions, with some banks still granting full loans, and the low current interest rate.
Seeff says all these factors can get millennial buyers into a property or suburb that they might not have been able to afford a year ago. Most areas offer access to good transport networks, schools and a host of amenities, including banks and shops. Up to 40% of buyers in the Protea Glen area are millennial buyers, say Khosi Sibiya and Phindile Mphahlele, MDs at Seeff Soweto. Property prices here start from R400,000. Other popular areas are Weltevreden Park, Allen’s Nek and Olivedale in Randburg from R500,000; Glen Austin and Noordwyk in Midrand from R400,000; Paulshof, Douglasdale and Lonehill in Sandton from R600,000 to R800,000; and Sunnyside, Equestria and Moreleta Park in Pretoria East from R500,000.
Tiaan Pretorius at Seeff Centurion says first-time buyers have increased, and are active in the R700,000 to R1m range if they are buying on their own and up to R1.8m if buying jointly. Gerhard van der Linde, MD at Seeff Pretoria East, advises young buyers to get preapproval. “It saves a lot of time,” he says, “especially in this market where you want to take advantage of the favourable conditions as quickly as possible.”