Building and property sales boom in St Francis Bay

By Bev Mortimer:

In spite of it being mid-winter and out of season, when business trade is quieter on the coast, St Francs Bay is still undergoing a building boom and property sales have escalated since the beginning of the year.
Six months after the canal fires on 11 November 2012 that destroyed 76 houses, 21 houses are currently being re-constructed (including 6 townhouses). All the burnt houses, bar five, were demolished. The remaining houses will be built in due course.
Even if some of the current owners sell their plots, the new buyers may well wish to construct a home soon after purchase. So there is loads of work not only for the builders but for all those contracting to the building trade.
From plumbers, to electricians, to painters, all report they are swamped. Local residents cannot even get their local contractor in a hurry these days – “as the job is too small”. So, often residents have to wait until the contractor finishes or has a break during his huge contract.
St Francis Chronicle spoke to some tradesmen in the building industry. The general buzz is that they believe that out of the bad (the fire) the good did come. That all those houses will be rebuilt.
“This building boom benefits all associated with the trade – from carpenters, to plumbers, to painters. A year ago some contractors told St Francis Chronicle they were thinking of selling up and going to PE where they hoped to get more work as in St Francis Bay business was dead. Now they have more customers than they can service and have to employ more staff. More locals are being employed and the money is being spent in St Francis. So the whole town is benefitting.
Shop owners have revealed that while not busy as in season, there have been more people with money to spend than this time last year. For many shop owners this year is certainly more profitable than last.
Up at St Francis Links, Jeff Clause has been reported as saying that many of the former owners of estate plots, who were not building, are now being replaced by members who are. Currently five homes are being built and 15 building projects are in the planning and approval stages.
Jean Hugo, is just one of several builders spoken to, most who did not want their names mentioned, who are extremely busy. Hugo says he has plenty of work and is certainly not complaining as business has vastly improved since a year ago. He foresees much more work in the pipeline, some jobs dependent on tenders.
He and other builders say that in the next three to five years all those levelled plots where houses were burnt, will most likely have been rebuilt and St Francis Bay will reap the benefits.
“A lot of positivity has come out of the tragedies of last year and activity is snowballing for the construction industry and service suppliers who are inundated with work,” one industry commentator said. “This naturally has a knock-on effect for all other businesses in the area including the bed and breakfast outlets.“
Property sales boom…
The mini boom in property sales has also been good for the town and the positive spinoffs are on-going. And on this subject of positivity Chas Everitt says the property market in St Francis Bay has been more positive in the last five months compared to the same period last year. “High-end investors are returning to the market. This is good news for owners and potential investors,” says Chas Everitt estate agent, Mary-Lou Neate.
“Although considered a luxury, the enquiries for second home investments have increased as well as for vacant land. The latter sector has been extremely quiet for a number of years with bonds not being easily accessible.
“Recent sales reflect registrations at the higher end of the market showing an upswing and confidence in the area and we believe this will continue to improve as the year progresses,” Neate says.
Most estate agents are reaping the benefits of successful transactions and are more upbeat. The over pricing of property was a trend set towards the end of 2011 and during 2012.
“This is now adjusting to reflect more realistic figures which are more in line with market demand,” Neate maintains
Though some economic predictions may be gloomy this always augurs well for the property industry as now is the time to buy before the market turns, most estate agents spoken to reckon. “Property investment is cyclical. Although you may not always have the opportunity to choose the right time to purchase or speculate, the pundits will tell you to know your market, do your homework and catch the market before it gets out of reach. The bottom line is buy now!”
Richard Arderne of Pam Golding Properties is also upbeat as his agency has had good sales this year. He adds that Pam Golding recently achieved one of the highest prices in recent years for an undeveloped erf – R1,2m!
Les Olivier from St Francis Properties says sales for the first quarter of this year have exceeded all previous years and she is excited by the positive movement in the market place. “It would seem that the investors are on the move again and ‘fence-sitters’ are taking the plunge! The properties that are currently moving are correctly priced according to today’s market and are well prepared for a sale.”

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