2020 has most certainly thrown a curveball! After an economically sluggish 2019, the new year saw in a somewhat surprising and certainly promising boost in prospective interest, concluded sales and conveyancing instructions on the North Coast including Zimbali for most of the first quarter, only to come to a sudden and complete halt with Level 4 and 5 lock down immobilising sales-generating activity and creating a concern over the potential fall-out which Covid-19 may have on property sales and house values.
Yet come the introduction of Level 3 in June a flurry of enquiries, viewings and subsequent sales descended on Zimbali, marking a near-instant return to that inspiring 1 st quarter sales momentum. Whilst pent-up demand following the lock-down and interest rate cuts certainly played a part, the wider spread impact of Covid-19 on people’s personal and professional life has prompted a re-evaluation of lifestyle principles and working environments. Zimbali finds itself at the very core of that debate. 2020 has brought about a decisive acceleration from ‘semigration’ status to realising the long term objective of a permanent move to the Resort, whilst also putting to rest any uncertainty by many Zimbali absentee owners’ whether to sell or to hold on in order to finally settle down at the coast. Not only has the 3 rd quarter seen a number of buyers securing a primary residence base in Zimbali, many free-hold properties listed for sale pre-covid, were subsequently withdrawn.
Latest registered sales statistics provided by deeds office linked service providers portray Zimbali’s 2020 market performance in a rather encouraging light, confirming a steadfast and measured recovery from the 2 nd quarter lock-down challenges. Freehold properties in the estate show a better than expected resilience in terms of volume with a mitigated drop in average monthly sales rate from 3.6 (2019) to 2.8 (2020— April and May were not factored in), however even more positive is the demand for higher priced, family contusive homes, including top-end beachfront properties, resulting in the highest median Price indicator (R 8.912 mill) achieved for the past 10 years, a 29% increase from 2019! Sales of sectional title properties may have declined in volume, have however still faired surprisingly well on pricing. Given that 2019 had, due to weakening macro-economic market dynamics, already shown a slowdown in demand for those income generating holiday investment opportunities, the subsequent marginal decline in 2020 still secured a median price well above the 2016/17 levels.
