Young first-time home buyers look to affordability in 'new' Sandton

Cape Town - Large sectional title complexes in the Johannesburg suburbs of Linbro Park, Longlake and Westlake are increasingly becoming popular among young first-time home buyers looking for affordable accommodation.

According to Seeff Properties' licence holders in Edenvale and Bedfordview, affordable sectional title units are currently being built in what they refer to as the "new" Sandton, which is "starting to capture the imagination of young first-time buyers".

"If you're in the market for townhouse living with good quality facilities close to Sandton, Midrand and the airport in the affordable price bracket of R699 000 to R1.6m, look no further than Linbro Park or the Modderfontein suburbs of Longlake and Westlake," licencees responded to Fin24.

"These large sectional title complexes offer superior amenities, such as cinemas, onsite restaurants, gyms, squash courts, attractive open areas, nursery schools and 24-hour security."

Greenstone Ridge:

• READ: Gautrain boosts property prices

Live, work, play

In 2003 Greenstone Hill was launched by Heartland as the first large "live, work, play" environment in the north-eastern part of Johannesburg. It now consists of 8 000 households, some commercial business parks and four shopping centres, including Greenstone Mall and Stone Ridge Mall.

According to the Seeff licencees, its key success factors are the mix of secure housing estates, including clusters and townhouses with good facilities. The area has good access to Sandton, eastern Johannesburg, Midrand and Kempton Park.

Seeff explains that Heartland/AECI subsequently sold 1 600 hectares to Zendai, a Chinese development company, which committed to developing a corridor of land formerly known as Modderfontein situated between Edenvale to the south, Sandton/Linbro Park to the west and Waterfall Estate to the north.

Greenstone Crest:

The Gautrain route was built directly through this portion of Modderfontein land and a new town centre is to be built around an approved future Gautrain station in Modderfontein. This will link the airport to Pretoria and Johannesburg's existing stations.

According to Seeff, Zendai subsequently sold its land holding to locally based developer M&T, which intends completing the project over the course of the next several years.

A number of sectional title complexes have recently been launched in the area, consisting of around 4 000 housing units being developed by M&T, Balwin Properties and a few smaller developers.

Alongside these developments in Linbro Park, commercial warehousing, business parks, schools, shopping centres and 16 000 residential units are planned. These will complement the recently opened Busamed Longlake Hospital, according to the Seeff licensees.

"The residential units being offered are some of the best located to Sandton CBD currently on offer and are expected to rise in value when the town centre gets started and the new Gautrain station is operable," they commented.

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