Issued by: ITP Communications


The exhibition of waterfront properties and developments will be an interesting attraction for property investors at the forthcoming Absa National Boat Show, which takes place from 17 to 19 August at the Coca-Cola Dome in Northgate, Johannesburg.

The demand for waterfront property is being driven largely by the increasingly limited supply thereof, as well as by what those in the loop describe as an international trend towards the waterfront and pleasure-boating lifestyle.

Says Phil Medlock, Franchise Principal of Pam Golding: “There is a dramatic trend towards country living worldwide, and consequently great demand for properties in out-of-town lifestyle developments. Properties on the Vaal River and Vaal Dam have become very sought after for precisely this reason. By buying at the Vaal, people can escape the city and achieve that ‘country feeling', while still being just an hour's drive away from Johannesburg. Add to that the recreational offering of the water in terms of waterskiing, boating, etcetera, and it's easy to see why the Vaal is experiencing such a boom.”

Steve Slatter Insurance focuses predominantly on the insurance of marine and leisure goods, and the bulk of its business is conducted offshore, with international clients. Director, Steve Slatter agrees that what's happening in South Africa is a microcosm of global events and trends and says his company has noticed a steady increase over the past 18 months, in the purchase of luxury goods like pleasure boats. Slatter believes this trend is being driven at least in part by improved mobile communications technology.

He explains: “We are seeing an increase in the number of business owners who take extended weekend trips at their waterfront homes and on their boats, where they have ready access to the internet via satellite or cellphone connectivity, which enables them to continue working uninterrupted, while away from the office.”

So while mobile technology may be at least partly responsible for the gain in popularity of the home-from-home waterfront lifestyle, others believe that it's also a symptom of the need, by overworked, immensely stressed executives to escape the rat race and take a complete mental and physical time out in a totally different environment.

The latter view is one shared by Caryne Ledsham, managing member of Club Marine Insurance. Ledsham says her company, which insures mainly marine and leisure goods, has noticed an increase of around 40% in the volumes of insurance policies being processed for leisure, boating and watersports products. Certainly figures like that support the notion of a massive boom in the waterfront property lifestyle and market.

Ledsham says apart from the growth in the consumer end of the market, there have been significant changes taking place on the trading end and substantial growth in property development. She adds: “The market is quite dynamic at the moment. We've noticed a lot of imported boats being sold, several mergers between big dealers in the marketplace, and a dramatic increase in the number of property and marina developments on rivers and dams, all of which are driving the increased need for household, marine and related insurance.”

Elton Solms, a Director at McCrystal & Partners, another specialist marine insurance company, says there is indeed a vast amount of inland waterfront property development taking place, especially at the Vaal, and on the Free state side in particular. He adds that riverfront property prices are skyrocketing and identifies Bronkhorstspruit and Witbank Dam as other waterfront property development hotspots and places to watch in the future.

Solms says development aside, the growth in his company's waterfront and marine product insurance business, is not being driven entirely by volumes. He explains: “We haven't noticed so much of an increase in the number of policies being sold, as compared to an increase in the value of those policies. Interestingly enough, this increase in value is not solely being driven by higher goods prices, but rather by the fact that people are spending more money on higher value boats and imported boats.”

Solms says this willingness by buyers to spend more on boats may be underpinned by the fact that while they will seldom make money on the resale of their boats, should they keep them long enough, they are more likely to make a profit.

So, while industry players may differ on their ideas as to what exactly is driving the growth in waterfront property development and consumer demand for it, all agree that the phenomenon is a real and significant one. It is also one that mirrors the tremendous growth of the Absa National Boat Show, now in its fifth year, and the boating and watersports industries as a whole. Over and above the boating, scuba diving, watersports, and leisure exhibits at the show, the expo will feature a contingent of exhibitors of waterfront properties and property developments, and related service providers, including all of those mentioned previously.

Featured on the expo, will be inland as well as coastal waterfront property developments, with prices ranging from as little as R700k for a two-bedroom apartment in a riverfront complex, to R1,495 million for a three bedroom house in the upmarket Marina View development in Deneysville, to R2-million and more for riverfront properties.

Best of all, having found your dream property at the show, you can accessorise it on the spot with the boat and leisure goods of your dreams, finance these through Absa Leisure Asset Finance and insure them through any one of the reputable brokers exhibiting at this year's show.

For more information, visit the website: www.nationalboatshow.co.za. The Absa National Boat Show is the continent's premier boating and watersports show and takes place at the Coca-Cola Dome in Northgate, Johanneburg, from Friday 17th till Sunday 19th August. Show times are from 11:00 to 20:00 on Friday and 09:00 to 18:00 on Saturday and Sunday. Children under 12 enter for free, while ID-carrying scholars, students and pensioners pay just R30 and adults R50 a ticket.




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ITP Communications
Tondani Luvhengo
Tel: (011) 450 2477

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[4 Jun 2007 16:40]

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