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Sunninghill's Potental
Business Day
8 November 2006
Located between Sandton and Kyalami in Johannesburg, Sunninghill has seen massive levels of development in the past 10 years, both in the residential and non-residential sectors.
Originally a country area with family homes with on average three bedrooms and two bathrooms located on a 1500-1800m² stand, the suburb is tending towards being a high-density node, with residential and commercial sites being complementary, but clearly defined.
On a micro scale, Sunninghill is experiencing the organic growth associated with a commercial district — influenced by traffic congestion, workers are increasingly wanting to live closer to their place of employment, creating demand for residential development in proximity to commercial areas.
The businesses located in Sunninghill’s commercial node tend to be more upmarket in nature, with accounting firms and advertising agencies among the most prominent. These industries tend to have a higher profile of professional, who seeks a well- equipped property with superior finishes and high standards of construction. The challenge is to provide these professionals with properties that meet these standards.
Contrary to appearances when driving past the area, there is more to Sunninghill than cluster developments. The area has about 500 freestanding homes, which are priced at a premium, with a shortage of land for the development of further housing pushing land prices up to R5m/ha, according to Pam Golding’s Jean Bekink.
In spite of this, she maintains that Sunninghill remains undervalued in relation to property on the other side of the freeway, and that an appreciation rate of between 17 and 20% on last year’s values, in relation to an average 12-15% in similar areas, means that it is still an investment opportunity.
John Brammal a local estate agent, concurs, citing an example of a property he had on his books in 2003, that was sold then for R330000, that is now valued at R1,35m. “According to a recent survey conducted by Nedbank, Sunninghill is part of the Lonehill/Fourways belt that showed better appreciation in value between 1998 and 2002 than any other area in the country and, if all things are considered, that trend is set to continue.
Apartments are entering the market in the low R600s, and are achieving values of up to R1,2m. Clusters and houses enter the market at around R1,5m, going up to the low R2m mark, although something really exceptional will achieve a price in the early R3m area, according to Bekink.
Construction of a new road system is set to commence shortly, which will link the area more effectively with Kyalami and Midrand to the north, as well as to Rivonia and Sandton, with planned access to the freeway making Sunninghill even more of a midpoint between business hubs.
Further planned developments include a new shopping centre, and the revitalisation of existing shopping facilities, and the construction of two new gyms. These factors will contribute to what is probably one of the strongest points of this area — its community.
Strong ratepayers’ associations in both Sunninghill and Sunninghill Gardens have meant that the suburb has built a close-knit community that has taken responsibility for security, lighting, landscaping and other infrastructure issues.
Both have active websites (www.sunninghillgardens.org.za and www.sunninghillcommunity.co.za) with projects including paving common areas, upgrading parks, paying for traffic wardens to help with congestion, and chasing municipal structures to perform their tasks satisfactorily. A proposed union of these two associations will make their achievements even stronger.
This sense of community has had an effect on the movement of property in the area, according to Bekink. “Previously, people would buy an apartment or cluster, and then as soon as they could afford it, upgrade outside the suburb. Now, however, we are seeing people upgrading from an apartment to a cluster to a freestanding house, all within the same area, as they value the atmosphere that the area offers.”
Brammall is enthusiastic about Sunninghill from both personal and professional points of view. “I’ve lived here for 25 years, and absolutely love it here. Apart from it being a great area to live in, I’ve invested well in it, and have enjoyed good returns. I have no doubt that buyers into the area will be making good investments themselves,” he concludes.
Original article published at www.businessday.co.za.
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