Only 38 of the almost 3000 existing residential front doors at Century City are currently on the market for resale.
This represents just over 1% against a norm of around 5%-10% elsewhere, says Brian Usher of Property World, the on-site specialist Century City agents. “This is not just the resale properties we have on our books but the total number of existing properties on the market within the precinct across all estate agencies,” he said.
Usher said the shortage of available stock was not only spurring new development but also underpinning property prices and capital growth. He said newly listed properties for sale in Century City were selling on average within a couple of weeks which was unheard of in most other areas where average listing periods were anything from three to nine months.
“There are a few exceptions where properties have been on the market in Century City for four or five months but these tend to be those properties which are unrealistically priced and where the seller is not having to sell but will do so if he or she gets their perceived price.” Usher said that the current demand for property at Century City was possibly at a peak both from a Sales and Resales aspect.
“And this is creating a situation where the prices achieved in the past few months are no longer a true reflection of what the current property values are. As such the comparative market values of properties will soon see a dramatic adjustment once the most recent sales are transferred. “This is turn will place more responsibility on the financial institutions to ensure that their respective valuators are kept abreast of this upturn in values.”
He said that Century City’s popularity as a residential destination had soared in recent years not only among buyers but also tenants due to its central location, its high level of safety and security as well as all the amenities right on the doorstep.
“Together these make for an unbeatable lifestyle and we simply cannot keep up with rental demand. Any new listings are snapped up immediately. This has made the node particularly attractive to investors as they are practically guaranteed a tenant and the achievable rentals are very good.”