Asrin Property Developers’ R320-million Melkbosch Village will go down in history as the most successful plot and plan development ever launched in its section of the Cape’s West Coast, says Dave Evans, a Melkbosstrand Rawson Properties franchisee.

“When we launched the first phase of 171 units in August,” said Evans, “we allowed six to eight months to sell out. However, that phase sold so quickly that we had to release phase II within a few weeks and it is now almost 30 percent sold.”

Melkbosch Village consists of two main categories of housing. There are 202 sectional title units, 34 duplexes and 125 freestanding homes. In Phase I these were priced at ‘ultra competitive levels’ with starting prices of R599 000 for the two bedroom sectional title units and R799 500 for two bedroom freestanding homes with a garage.

Phase I units will be handed over in September and October 2008 while Phase II units will be ready for occupation at the end of 2009. This phase has 144 sectional title and 47 freestanding units and, says Evans, are still competitively priced despite an average increase of 15 to 20 percent on Phase I prices. A third and final phase of 29 larger freestanding units will come on the market later.

“Those who bought or are buying in the hope of seeing significant capital gains will not be disappointed,” said Evans. “There is no drop in demand.”

Evans said that surprisingly few of the bond applicants had been turned down by banks because of the new National Credit Act conditions. Units in Phase I which had become available in this way were very quickly snapped up, he said.

Evans ascribes the popularity of the project to it being less than a kilometre from the beach at Melkbosstrand, ‘the coastal village with the most character in the Cape’. Its white walled, tiled roof designs are also very popular with buyers. “The drawing power of this village increases year by year. Owners here are in a strong position because, apart from this new village, further development is strictly limited by a severe shortage of land for new development.”

Melkbosch Village is one of a new genre of projects in which the City Council compels developers to build a separate low-cost housing component. In this case there will be 100 homes with similar façades to the main village.