It's not just the garden that buyers love about pre-loved homes

Much has already been said about home buyers (and tenants) moving away from compact high-rise apartments in the city centres to more spacious homes with ground-floor access to some "green" space - and this trend is still growing as work-from-home becomes increasingly entrenched.

But it's not just the gardens that are attracting people back to the suburbs - and back to pre-loved homes, says Gerhard Kotzé, MD of the RealNet estate agency group.

"A newly built or 'off-plan' home does have considerable appeal for many buyers, particularly those who want to be able to customise their homes to exactly suit their personal needs and tastes."

"However, there are also many good reasons to buy a pre-owned home, and in SA as in many other countries now, we see that these are adding up for buyers, on top of the appeal of having a garden."

Firstly, he says, a pre-owned property will generally offer more space for the same price. "Building costs have climbed steadily over the past few years, and shortages of building materials due to COVID-19 production and distribution disruptions have exacerbated the situation. The cost of land in sought-after areas has also increased so overall, the cost per square meter of newly-built homes is much higher than that of homes that were built when construction and land costs were lower.

"In SA, VAT is usually also built into the price of new homes, so 15% of the price you pay will not really translate into floor space. On older homes, you will of course still pay transfer tax, but this will be a smaller percentage of the overall price - and the first R1m of that price will be tax exempt."

Secondly, many pre-owned homes have a spare room, garage or outbuilding that can easily be turned into a separate and self-contained home office - a factor that is increasingly important to buyers as working and studying from home permanently or even semi-permanently becomes a lifestyle choice for more and more families.

Thirdly, says Kotzé, pre-owned homes in suburbs and estates are often already surrounded by well-established community amenities, such as convenient local shopping centres, good schools and entertainment, sports and medical facilities. "And this is very important for an increasing number of buyers who prefer not to have to commute or deal with traffic congestion but rather to have access to everything they need within walking distance of their homes."

Fourth, he notes, pre-owned homes often have more "character" in the form of certain architectural features or fixtures, "and many buyers like the idea of living in a property with some visible history or heritage, or of renovating and modernizing a spacious older home".       

In SA, the low interest rates that have prevailed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have also made it possible for many buyers to purchase bigger or more expensive homes than they might previously have considered - including townhouses and houses in the suburbs instead of small city-centre apartments. This is helping them to skip a rung or two on the property ladder and also driving pre-owned sales, says Kotzé.  

"Meanwhile, for those whose prime reason for moving is actually the desire to have a garden, it's worth noting that it is usually much easier - and much less costly - to maintain an established garden than it is to start one from scratch."