Four landslide-hit Cape Town plots go to auction from R200,000
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Four plots in De Tijger, Parow, will be auctioned on 17 September with starting prices from R200,000, but each has been affected by a landslide and some still carry homes that will have to be demolished.
Four plots in De Tijger, Parow, have been put up for auction with a starting price of R200,000, an unusually low entry point for Cape Town land, where plots routinely sell for R500,000 or more.
The properties will go under the hammer on 17 September and range in size from 379 square metres to 415 square metres.
There is a catch: each plot has been affected by a landslide. In some cases the homes previously built on the parcels will need to be demolished, and buyers must budget for construction costs and the steeper insurance premiums associated with land of this kind.
The listings suggest the body corporate will cover the cost of reinforcing the barriers on the four sloped plots. A study published on ScienceDirect found that 22% of landslide areas will experience at least three such events over 30 years, raising questions about how easily a new home could be resold and whether owners would benefit from the area's property trends.
Other properties on elevated plots in the same area are listed at R5.25 million, and a home on the street sold for R2.7 million in July, against an average sale price of about R3 million in the wider area. Winning bidders must pay a 2.5% deposit and a 10% auctioneer's fee immediately, with the balance due when the property transfers into their name, and a refundable R50,000 deposit is required to take part.