The City of Cape Town is auctioning 30 pieces of unused municipal land next week, including 23 residential property development opportunities in suburbs across the Peninsula.
It is not the first time the City will be selling property this way, but Greg Dart, director at High Street Auctions, and only after the “smash hit” that was the first auction did he realise the true scope of the market’s appetite for municipal land.
“To call bidding at City of Cape Town land auctions ‘competitive’ is a gross understatement; a far more accurate description would be ‘fierce’.
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“But all-out enthusiasm is to be expected considering the market in which bidders are attempting to invest. Cape Town is hands down the richest and most desirable real estate market in the country.”
With geographic constraints also severely restricting the amount of greenfield land left for new builds on the Peninsula, Shawn van Jaarsveld, associate director of High Street Auctions in Cape Town, says it’s little wonder there’s such high demand for the stands being sold off by the City.
The auction will take place at noon on November 16, and the 30 lots include 23 residential, five with various business zonings, and two zoned for community development projects.
“The residential stands are scattered across the city from Durbanville and Kraaifontein in the north, to Muizenberg in the south. Cape Flats investors will also be keenly interested in this auction, because numerous residential development opportunities will be on the market in those suburbs for the first time.”
Van Jaarsveld says some bidders will also be looking to acquire both residential and business sites at this month’s municipal land disposal auction due to semigration continuing to bolster the Cape property market.
Figures included in a recent City of Cape Town report to the Western Cape Provincial Government reveal that in the three-month period between July and the end of September this year, the Council’s coffers were bolstered to the tune of R12 546 868.46 by the disposal of 18 properties.
Citing communication with the City of Cape Town’s Property Management Department, Dart says that, prior to a land disposal, each lot is assessed in terms of municipal needs. If deemed superfluous to requirements it then follows a rigorous internal legal process, culminating in a submission to Council for approval to sell that land on the open market.
“The hybrid auction will be both live at the DHL Stadium in Green Point, Cape Town, and virtually streamed via High Street’s website, its social media channels and the High Street Auctions app, so bidders from across the country and indeed the world are also welcome to participate in the sale.”
Bids will be accepted from the floor, by telephone, on the High Street app, and via any other digital streams prescribed by the auctioneer prior to the sale.
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