It is said that “One should never have the most expensive house in a cheap neighbourhood. Rather settle for the cheapest house in an expensive neighbourhood”. Whilst this is sound advice for established communities; it does not pertain to vacant land, or rather stands, within a new development.

Century Property Developments currently have four different estates where there is a river that ribbons through the secure development. It is never a surprise when we see riverfront developer stands being the last stands to be sold. The reason for this is simple; investors tend to purchase the cheaper stands first, in order to minimize the risk of owning the most expensive house in an estate that could be considered a failure upon completion. The irony behind this, is the fact that it is always the riverfront stands that yields the best returns – and you do not often get the opportunity to invest in such stands in an estate that is already heralded as a massive success in the property industry!

For example, let’s have a look at Helderfontein Residential Estate. The last few stands are situated along the riverside, at slightly higher prices than the other stands in that phase. This might be hard to believe, considering the fact that the stands have scenic views of the river, whilst having enough foliage to shelter it from the houses on the other side of the river. Whilst prospective buyers contemplate if these stands are priced too high in comparison to the other stands in the development, it is clear that this could not be further from the truth. These stands are the buy of the century (pardon the pun), and here is why;

In Waterfall you cannot get a riverfront stand for under R4,5 million. Why would that be? It is a simple matter of ‘supply-and-demand’. Waterfall Estates is now an established neighbourhood, boosting investor confidence – but alas, there are no more riverfront stands left (very limited amount were ever released). Simply put, these are the best stands in the estate. Needless to say, riverfront stands in Helderfontein are even more pristine than in any of our other developments, yet these are the last stands to sell. Imagine being the first investor that purchased a vacant riverfront stand at Waterfall Estates, directly from the developer… This individual would have made his money back threefold since the launch. Current prices indicate that these stands are already, on average, increased by R1,5 million. If this is not enough to convince you, all the houses on the river get an extra R1,5 million in value, just because of their position within the estate. This is without taking these houses’ fittings, finishes and design aesthetic into consideration. You simply cannot get a house on the river for less than R14 million, and not all of them are showstopping architectural masterpieces.

When considering investing in a riverfront stand, also look at the trends from other developments in the area. Steyn City, where riverfront stands start at R7,2 million, is located adjacent to Helderfontein Residential Estate. In Dainfern Estate, there are no stands available on the river. Often modifying an existing house could also cost you in excess of R2 million to bring it up-to-date. At a starting price of R3,29 million, riverfront stands in Helderfontein Estate is probably the best investment in the current property market. The investors that have already purchased these stands are looking at a R1 million increase in value over the next year, as houses start developing in this phase of the development – that is, if there are still any stands available by next year. Needless to say, the investors doing research in the neighbourhood, will quickly realize that there are no other developments in this area that are located along the river. Therefore, the supply will soon run out. Most of the other estates along the river cater to high-density apartments, as these are known to give large-scale property developers the best return-on-investment over the shortest period of time. So, if you are looking at vacant land to build your dream house on, rather spend more on the stand positioning, as this will ultimately increase the value of your investment without any further enhanced features to the actual house’s design…