Chas Everitt Group Expands Presence in KZN

The Chas Everitt International property group has expanded its presence on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast with the opening of a new office in Shelley Beach.

Located in the South Coast Mall, the new office is there to serve homebuyers and sellers along one of the most popular stretches of the “Hibiscus Coast” and underscores the group’s belief that the property market is in recovery.
 
Franchise owner Neville Collett, who also owns the Chas Everitt branch in Margate, says: “The Shelley Beach area, which includes Uvongo and St Michaels-on-Sea, is of course a top holiday destination, especially for those who like adventure sports such as deep sea fishing, ski-boating, sea kayaking, scuba diving on the famous Protea Banks, or the adrenaline rush of swimming with sharks, dolphins and whales during the annual Sardine Run.
 
“It has also become the shopping hub of the South Coast, with several large malls that also offer cinemas, a wide range of restaurants and other entertainment venues. So it is not surprising that it attracted a considerable amount of new residential development just before the recession hit – or that this gave rise to an oversupply that means there are currently some outstanding opportunities here for buyers.”
 
For example, he says, there are brand new two-bedroom flats available at the moment for just R575 000, or around R620 000 with a sea view, and new sectional title simplexes and cluster homes for around R750 000 to R800 000.

Stands in secure estates are going for as little as R300 000 – or what they cost about three years ago.
 
As for pre-owned properties, there are three-bedroom, two-bathroom houses available at prices from around R730 000, and plenty of good quality family homes with four bedrooms, pools and even granny flats for less than R1m.
 
At the top end of the local market, there are guesthouses and majestic seaside mansions for sale at prices ranging from R3m to R4m, and even a 36-room lodge for just R11m.
 
However, Collett notes, the tide is turning as investors have already realised that some of the best “buys” they can make at the moment are properties in popular coastal locations, “not only because prices here are low at the moment but because the prospects for value growth are very good as coastal land becomes an increasingly scarce commodity”.
 
Chas Everitt International sales director Barry Davies says the Shelley Beach office is the first of several planned over the next year for KZN. “The past two years have been difficult ones for the property market in this region but things are improving now and we intend to be a part of that by making it easier for property owners here to access our world-class marketing expertise.”