Bethlehem PROPERTY SHINING
February 2007 - By Joan Muller
Johannesburg - Property developers are increasingly shifting
their attention away from well-developed metropolitan areas to small
rural towns. Bethlehem in the eastern Free State is one of the up
and coming investment destinations. The picturesque town has been
earmarked for what's believed to be one of the biggest mixed-use
developments ever undertaken in the Free State.
JSE-listed property fund Orion Real Estate earlier this month obtained
approval for a R1bn waterfront development on a 47ha site at Gobles
Folly, near Peermont Global's new Frontier Inn Casino.
The project - to be developed with joint venture empowerment partner
Isaac "Blacky" Seoe - will comprise a regional shopping
centre of 40 000m², luxury high-density residential units, a
retirement village, a three or four star hotel, restaurants and other
leisure and entertainment facilities.
Aldo Alberts, CEO of Orion's development division, says approval
for the project follows the recent lifting of a development moratorium
by Dihlabeng Municipality, which incorporates the towns of Bethlehem,
Clarens, Fouriesburg, Paul Roux and Rosendal.
Lifestyle estates
Other developers are also placing their bets on Bethlehem. Cape
Town-based property group Pinnacle Point Holdings, in which Lazarus
Zim's Afribalm Resources holds a 26% stake, recently launched an
upmarket residential development in Bethlehem on former farmland
overlooking Loch Athlone.
The project - Wesselheim Secure Lifestyle Estate - will comprise
222 freestanding plots, five medium density townhouse developments
and a clubhouse with two tennis courts, squash courts, bowling greens
and a fitness centre Residents will also have access to facilities
for water sports and fishing.
Pinnacle is known for its golf course developments, such as Pinnacle
Point Beach & Golf Resort (near Mossel Bay), Clarens Golf &
Trout Estate (eastern Free State) and Wedgewood Village Retirement
Golf & Country Estate (Port Elizabeth). However, Dave McGregor,
sales and marketing director for the Pinnacle group, says it's shifting
focus to residential lifestyle estates in Free State towns such as
Bethlehem, Welkom and Bloemfontein.
He says such locations have been bypassed by developers during
the recent housing boom and now offer better growth prospects than
cities. McGregor says rural towns generally have a huge shortage
of new housing stock. Supply pressure is further fuelled by the ongoing
migration of city dwellers to smaller towns and a growing demand
for weekend leisure properties.
Prices overtake nearby hot spots
Latest housing data from the Knowledge Factory's SA Property Transfer
Guide (SAPTG) shows that property investors who have already bought
into Bethlehem saw values increase by a massive 58% last year.
Interestingly, SAPTG's data shows that average house prices in
Bethlehem have now overtaken those of nearby weekend hot spot Clarens:
average house prices in Bethlehem have surged to R600 000 compared
with R580 000 for Clarens.
Dullstroom, in Mpumalanga's trout triangle and another popular
getaway for well-heeled Gautengers, is still slightly ahead of Bethlehem
in terms of average house prices at R628 500.
|
