Significant spike in rental demand
The sectional title buy-to-let market in Sandton is, according to Seeff's managing director for the greater Sandton area, Charles Vining, about to explode. "New commercial development in Sandton will see thousands of employees relocated to offices in the Central Business District, which will inevitably create a big demand for residency".
“At the moment, Sandton Central is a hive of construction activity: cranes dominate the skyline and workmen in construction-issue overalls pound the pavements alongside businessmen and
women. New developments are commercial, residential and mixed-use. Petrochemical giant, Sasol, plans to consolidate its Gauteng head offices, which currently span a number of buildings across Rosebank, Randburg and Bryanston into one impressive 67 000m2 10-story office building,” said Vining.
The Sasol office space, said to be ready for occupation in the second half of 2016, will house between 3 000 and 4 000 Sasol employees. This influx of employees will naturally result in greater demand for residential accommodation in an area that is already experiencing stock shortages. “Accommodation in Sandton Central is highly sought-after, especially where unfurnished sectional title units are concerned. It seldom takes longer than two weeks to find suitable tenants for a well-priced sectional title unit,” said Vining.
According to Vining, Sandton has already seen increased traffic volumes as a result of recently completed mega-offices in Sandton and Rosebank. ”We predict that many employees working in the mega-offices will choose to reside closer to work so as to avoid additional time spent in peak-hour traffic, and this will fuel demand for residential accommodation in the immediate area. Further to the preference to reside closer to their place of work, employees relocating to central suburbs enjoy some of the best retail experiences in the country and are able to make use of the convenient, first-class Gautrain services.
“In the last year we have seen a significant rise in demand for rental accommodation and with the continued commercial development we anticipate a steady increase in this
demand. Since 2007 there has definitely been a steady increase year-on-year of between 7 percent and 10 percent on monthly rental amounts. Unfurnished two bedroom apartments from R8 000 to R20 000 per month are sought by tenants. Three bedroom apartments priced between R12 000 and R20 000 per month are very rentable. To say that this is an opportune time for all landlords and investors would be an understatement,” Vining concludes.
