Cape Residential Property: buyers priorities listed by Alexander Swart Director.

The property press has in the last few months regularly reported that the conditions in the residential property market have swung in favour of buyers. While this true, says Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart  Property, the Cape Town estate agency, sellers aware of what buyers regard as  important can still get a good  deal  provided they understand the factors that buyers place at the top of their priority lists.

The first and probably most important, says Alexander, is, as always,  a competitive market-related price. There will, he says, always be one or two sellers who believe that buyers can be talked into paying above the true value of the home they are putting on the market-but buyers are today far better informed and have access to expert advice, so it is highly unlikely that they will settle for an inflated value. Even 5 or 6% above the real value will be rejected and in the end the house may stick on the market far longer than it should-and the over-pricing seller may even have to settle for a price slightly BELOW the home's true worth.

The second factor highly regarded by most buyers , says Alexander, is the home's security-and the increasing crime rate of the last decade will ensure that this feature remains near the top of almost all peoples'  priority lists. A desire for greater safety, says Alexander, is one of the main reasons for the rapid growth of gated and fenced security estates but there will always be buyers who definitely do NOT want to live in such establishments or are deterred by the monthly levies charged. Such people will, however, still want such safety features as burglar bars,  alarmed doors and windows and, in many cases,  beams, exterior lighting  and electrified fencing. If the home does not have these the buyer will expect it to be offered at the sort of discount that makes it possible to install such facilities immediately. Alexander commented that exterior lighting, apart from being a great safety feature, frequently enhances  the aesthetics of the home and gives it an attractive after-hours ambience.

The third factor valued by buyers, says Alexander, is a patio. This, he says, is part of the now-popular trend towards homes that encourage an indoor-outdoor  existence.  As a corollary to this,  it is almost essential that the patio or some other outdoor area has a braai feature. Braaivleis  installations, in fact, says Alexander, rank as a separate attraction, the fourth on the priority list and,  if a home does not have one, it often loses value in the buyer's eyes because braai facilities are known to promote  the sort of  social lifestyle  much valued by many South Africans.

Another important feature on many buyers' bucket lists,  says Alexander, is proximity to good schools. Education is today justifiably seen as the passport to  a satisfactory career and many parents are prepared to make huge sacrifices to give their offspring a good start in life. Closeness to a school with high academic results, therefore, is for many a top priority.

The sixth and seventh factors influencing buyers, according to Alexander, are  the scullery and garage spaces. With homes becoming smaller and more compact and with open plan living areas now almost obligatory,  a space which is dedicated to separate laundry and washing activities is now essential-and will be expected by the modern younger married housewife. Similarly,  today's middle class buyer wants a garage for one or two vehicles AND is big enough to provide storage for garden equipment, bicycles and all the extras that are acquired by today's middle and upper income level families.

The eighth factor important to today's buyer, says Alexander, is a fairly recent innovation: access to the fibre IT network. Since the arrival of Smart phones and related equipment and the pandemic induced swing to working from home, the ability to link in efficiently to the internet has for many become "a sine qua non", the one feature without which their lives are not possible. This applies equally to many scholars and  students who increasingly rely on on- line learning-so for many the home's ability to provide this is a deciding factor in what and where they purchase.

Buyers  today, adds Alexander, look  also for more natural finishes: there has, he feels, been a move away from bold, glossy, manufactured products and finishes towards wood and other natural materials-and those homes which conform to this trend are enjoying an unprecedented popularity. This ties in with -and is complementary to -the tenth desirability factor,  the shift to eco-friendly solar and other alternative energy systems, also now highly prized by today's buyers.

To many peoples' surprise there is now also a strong wish to be part of a "real" community, one in which there is a lively sense of being part of a bigger "family" and the residents have a welcoming, friendly spirit. If an estate agent can genuinely assure the prospective buyer that such a spirit exists, ,it will very definitely increase his desire to buy into the precinct.

For further information, please contact Rowan Alexander on email : rowan@asproperty.co.za.