Market Report on Newcastle KZN

Buy-to-let investors are currently very active in Newcastle in northern KwaZulu-Natal, as it has become apparent that rental income locally will almost always exceed bond repayments by a good percentage, according to Ferdi Labuschagne, co-owner of the local Chas Everitt International franchise.

Rentals are high, he says, because the town’s economy is largely driven by giant industrial companies such as Accelor Mittal, Karbochem and Lanxess, which employ hundreds of people and also generate large staff turnovers, leading to very high rental demand and, at the moment, a serious shortage of rental units.

“However, there are numerous sectional title complexes under development at the moment that will help to relieve this shortage and they are proving very popular with investors."

Growing employment in the industrial sector is also fuelling local home purchases in the under-R1,5m range, and strong demand for townhouses in this price bracket especially, has also given rise to several new building projects.

Labuschagne says, however, that a wide range of full title properties is available at prices ranging from R90 000 in the traditional townships to R5m in eco developments such as Vulintaba.

Farms are also in strong demand and very few units with commercial value are available for less than R7m.