Over the last decade, we have seen KZN grow from strength to strength. This province is transforming each year and offering residential and commercial properties that address socio-economic issues, while also creating easy connections to places that need to are attracting investors and families alike. One of KZN’s success stories is the Sibaya Coastal Precinct.
Named a catalytic development, the Sibaya Coastal Precinct sits along the North Coast of KZN, between Umhlanga and Umdloti. It has unlocked value for both property developers and homeowners. Due to the massive property value growth experienced within Sibaya, it has now become South Africa’s best performing residential precinct and will now host the first-of-its-kind mixed-use development and smart village, Salta Sibaya. The success of Sibaya’s is not only a result of its thoughtful, holistic design but also its placement within the province of KZN; which is fast becoming SA’s most investable province for a host of reasons.
Coastal proximity
Coastal property, like that in Sibaya will continue to grow in value. Using the nearby suburb of Umhlanga as an example, sea-facing homes have seen a sharp rise in the price-per-square-metre over the last decade. Much of this value is owed to placement and positioning, but there is also one key factor that adds massive value – infrastructure. Umhlanga’s value has steadily climbed over a fairly extended period, and its desirability has remained stable. Sibaya, however has set a new benchmark with 40% capital appreciation achieved in less than 5 years. Sibaya is vastly different in that it has been plotted, planned, and well designed to create value for its investors. Additionally, Sibaya’s infrastructure, for the most part, has been laid and upgraded by private developers like Devmco Group, in order to ensure uninterrupted services within the precinct. Sibaya’s strategic placement along the coastal side of the M4 draws on the best of KZN’s North Coast and is the golden key that unlocks true value.
Sustainable ethos
Along with good infrastructure, Sibaya upholds a genuine sustainability ethos, seen through the 60% of undeveloped natural environment. With the value of natural assets, like those within Sibaya, being at the forefront of property development and urban planning, Sibaya’s 350-hectare coastal forest will lend even greater value to the homes within the precinct. Having a strict ‘no-development’ zone, the design of Sibaya recognises the importance of these natural areas, not only to property values but also to the long-term vision of a precinct that upholds sustainability and is future-proofed.
Easy access
Running along a portion of one of Durban’s major highways, the M4, makes getting to and from Sibaya quick and easy. This is one of the factors which resonate deeply with buyers from Gauteng. For many, the commute between work and home takes up a fair portion of their day, and with that valuable time for business or leisure. The ease of commute is one of the lifestyle factors which adds value to an area like Sibaya. Another facet of accessibility is where schools are placed in relation to one’s home – just between Ballito and Umhlanga area host of the country’s top private schools operated by top education providers, which continue to attract people from all over Durban. Sibaya itself will also include a Curro school from Grade R to Matric, and a private university and modern student residences. This creates a development model is unseen in SA; the ability to live within a new, well-planned, holistic precinct which offers sea-facing homes, is secure and well-managed with a new, modern university within. In light of this, KZN is poised to set a new benchmark by offering students the chance to attend a top-class private university which is literally in walking distance from home. Furthermore, the proximity of the university to the various residential estates within Sibaya means that it will undoubtedly attract many more families from outside of KZN’s borders. Over the last 10 years, the corridor between Durban-Umhlanga-Ballito has experienced approximately R54 billion in wealth growth, which is largely owing to the influx of families into the region.
Business confidence and busy airports
King Shaka International Airport has become one of SA’s busiest airports. An easy 10-minute drive from Sibaya, the airport’s accessibility makes it ideal for those who commute in and out of the province for business purposes – you could touch down after a 55 minute flight from Joburg, walk off the plane, get in your car and be home within 20 minutes. Many families are choosing to semigrate to KZN for a host of reasons – from top schools and pleasant weather to less congestion and traffic, and also the chance to live a slower pace of life. Families from other provinces like Gauteng, have bought up property in Sibaya for primary residential use knowing that the proximity of the airport enables business travel to continue seamlessly.
Business confidence is not only an indicator of a growing regional economy, but also an indicator of where to invest. KZN is undergoing a huge transformation and is becoming the destination for business. Durban’s new CBD has established itself in Umhlanga Ridge, with the likes of Investec and Nedbank having set up there. Further north, the Dube Tradeport forms part of the growing Aerotropolis, which will link business, manufacturing, freight, and cargo together in one strategically planned region.
The volume of greenfield development taking place in KZN indicates the growth and desirability of the region. By way of its design, Sibaya has set a new regional and national benchmark for what a city of the future looks like. The Sibaya Coastal Precinct is one of the factors which makes KZN South Africa’s most investable province.
Perhaps you are thinking about selling your home but are not quite sure of the best way to do this? After all, you want maximum exposure for minimum input so you will likely be weighing up the options. Selling your home within a residential development takes a certain kind of agency – one that has intimate knowledge of the area, the estate and the kind of buyers who would be interested. Often, it is best to sell your home through the developer, like Devmco Group, who have their own in-house estate agency, Devmco Realty.
Estate agencies are professional organisations whose sole goal is to get your home sold for you. Agencies have the necessary tools and tech in place to make the sale of your home as smooth as possible. What’s more, is that agencies will have a database of buyers they can pitch the home to thereby helping to find a buyer in a much shorter timeframe.
An estate agent is already equipped with the knowledge and the skill needed to successfully sell your home. They will shoulder the lion’s share of the responsibilities and will do all the running around (that can take up valuable time). Estate agents are also adept at gauging a buyer’s interest in a property, as well as picking up on the subtle and unspoken cues which indicate a buyer may not like something. These are things that you may not pick up on.
An estate agent has a good in-depth knowledge of the area where your property is located and will therefore know what kind of price it can fetch. Sometimes you may pitch too high and miss out on a heap of interested buyers. An agency will always want to present your property in the most favourable way and will therefore highlight its best features and unique selling points. What you may think is a notable feature, may not be, and the estate agent will guide you on this.
When it comes to the administration and paperwork, your agent has got your back by taking care of all of this. What’s more is that the agent is suitably qualified and legally allowed to conduct the sale on your behalf. An agent is bound by the regulations of the Estate agencies Affairs Board (EAAB) and therefore has to ensure that he/she does what is legal and is best fiduciary practice in their capacity as an estate agent.
An estate agent will always provide honest and objective advice – they want to sell your home as much as you do. Your agent is your ally, and they are there to support you when it comes to the things you may not be familiar or comfortable with – especially the legal agreements. Estate agents are generally good with people, and are able to negotiate offers for you, in a professional, polite, and honest manner.
It pays off to list your home with an agency, like Devmco Realty, which has a good track record. Do some research to see what kind of homes the agency is selling and how successful they are at doing that
We had an exciting Q&A session today, and thank you to those of you who sent your questions through. If you were not able to join today’s session, here’s a quick recap of the highlights:
Watch the full session here:
Durban’s international airport experienced a phenomenal festive period with record number moving through its doors.
December 2019 saw the highest volume of passengers in the history of King Shaka International Airport, with 93% of passengers coming from our domestic regions. What’s interesting about this is that the bulk of our regional visitors are local, and this number has seen an increase of 12% since December 2018. Short-term or ‘day’ tourism is a goldmine due to sheer volume alone. 2.1 million people visited Durban’s beaches to celebrate the 2020 new year yielding a potential R2.1 billion injection into our local economy, if each visitor spends only a single rand. As South Africa’s 2nd largest regional economy in terms of GDP, KZN is responsible for R16 out of every R100 generated by our national economy.
With an ever-growing local tourism market many have realised the value of this burgeoning market and have moved to capitalise on these opportunities. Many investors have opted to invest in property in new growth areas like the Sibaya Coastal Precinct in KwaZulu-Natal. Charles Thompson of Devmco Group, one of the pioneering developers in the Sibaya Coastal Precinct shares his thoughts on this, “Investors are seeing the fruits of their labour during the December high season. Those who have purchased units at OceanDune and Pebble Beach, with the express intention of holiday letting, saw 100% occupancy for at least 2 weeks of the period. Investors would be wise to capitalise on the opportunity to earn an income bolstered by the influx of seasonal tourism and business travel that occurs throughout the year. Some other savvy buyers have opted for flexibility of use afforded by letting platforms like Airbnb; they can personally make use of their unit, or even live it when they want and then list the unit for holiday letting during high season and benefit from the additional income stream through this.”
Tourism is one of the key drivers of our economy and Durban has consistently managed to maintain its place as SA’s playground with record number of tourists visiting our shores over the festive period.
South Africa has a positive tourism balance with the rest of the world; foreign tourists spend more money in South Africa than South African tourists spend abroad. Tourism in South Africa directly accounted for 2.7% or R2.35 billion of our nominal GDP (Gross Domestic Product)of R1. 288 trillion for 2019.
Tourism is one of the keys to unlocking economic growth for South Africa, with job creation being one of the cascading benefits of this- one in every 22 working South Africans are employed in the tourism sector.
Charles Thompson from Devmco Group, “Tourism is undoubtedly a catalyst for job creation; and South Africa is Africa’s largest tourism economy therefore by creating opportunities for tourists to want to come to South Africa, we are also creating opportunities for job creation. While tourism is an economic driver, we also need to foster foreign investment via individual investors; and destinations like the Sibaya Coastal Precinct set the precedent for the future of development on our North Coast in line with future city models seen abroad.”
As a holiday destination, KZN, and the North Coast of Durban seems to exert a pull over the rest of the country and our year-round warm climate and easy beach access makes it perennially attractive. Statistics from this time last year reveal that almost 30% of our tourists into SA hailed from the UK with Germany close behind accounting for 23%. International tourism to KZN has undoubtedly been boosted by several international flight routes between King Shaka International Airport and other major global destinations, which include a direct London to Durban leg operated by British Airways; Emirates’ twice daily direct Durban to Dubai flights and Qatar Airways’ direct Durban to Qatar leg. These direct flights are invaluable in positioning the province as the gateway to South Africa. During our peak festive season, most of the airlines at King Shaka International Airport operated at almost total capacity with a reported 11% increase in the number of international passengers in comparison to the same period in 2018.