Demand exceeds supply in prime areas

THE INCREASING number of industrialists opting to buy land for the development of their own accommodation has resulted in a shortage of suitable property for development in prime areas, according to property specialist Colliers International. “A look at the relative land values indicates that at the bottom end of the scale there are locations like Marlboro/Kew and Denver, where land values languish at below R100/m2,” says Colliers’ Hayley Rubin. The middle range - at R125 -R150/m2 - includes Crown Mines, Eastgate Ext, Isando and Jet Park, while the prime properties in Linbro, Long Meadow, Midrand, Strydom Park and Kya Sands command values of more than R250/m2. Rubin believes that the rapid development of Pomona as an industrial area over the last 18 months, attracting large freight and distribution companies, has been encouraged by the widening of the R21 highway and the provision of the new Atlas Road interchange. This will run close to the Johannesburg International Airport cargo terminals and the proposed Airport industrial areas.