Property Talk: Land transforming before our eyes.

The greater Zimbali area is called the Port Zimbali Suburb, which includes the Zimbali Coastal Resort we all know well as the large 460ha component of the suburb, but also the smaller neighbouring estates such as Port Zimbali Estate and Hilltop Estate which have been around for a while and have attracted people looking for pet-friendly opportunities, is undergoing enormous expansion and attracting hundreds of millions in new sales by many Gauteng based buyers.

The Lazuli Estate has re­invented itself as a high-quality Estate catering to all age groups - a "multigenerational" opportunity rather than the initially promoted retirement market, which was too limiting. The location is also superior to many of the other similar estates and for that reason will now start to attract a lot more interest in the market.

The Easter special currently being run by the developer provides for single level free-standing homes measuring 256 sqm at R5,495,000 including vat with no transfer duty payable.

These homes are completed with manicured gardens and excellent quality finishes throughout. At a selling price of R21,464/sqm including vat, this is an example of the best buy opportunities along the Dolphin Coast.

The last two remaining townhouse type units in the first phase are now being sold by the Lazuli developer at very aggressive pricing to prepare for the new phase of freestanding 2 and 3 bedroom family homes starting from R2,895,000 including vat (no transfer duty).

If you have driven down the M4 recently past Zimbali Coastal Resort and Zimbali Lakes Resort you will notice the incredible pace of development and infrastructure going into the Zimbali Lakes precinct. What was originally called the Zimbali Office Estate and now called The Boulevard already has the first development nearing completion and others, including an Engen garage and convenience retail node to follow shortly.

The area is transforming before our eyes. The vacant land sales and new off-plan developer sales of the Zimbali Lakes opportunities have now been opened to a selection of third-party agents, including Seeff ZimbaIi.

The land sales to date have been impressive as many Gauteng buyers secure their development opportunities. The current price list provides for vacant land ranging in price from R2,995,000 to R5,295,000 including vat. The site sizes range from 808 sqm to 2, 108 sqm.

The developers have been smart to position the Zimbali Lakes as different from Zimbali Coastal Resort in terms of architecture and design. The roof colours will be grey and have a lower pitch to ensure the view lines of neighbouring properties are kept open.

The architecture is regarded as ultra-modem with larger areas of flat roof sections permitted. It will be fascinating to see the first homes emerge soon on this landscape. The market has responded very well to this focus on modem sophisticated design with over R300m in vacant land sales recorded and anticipating another R300m for this year.

Very often in the development lifecycle of a large scale residential type of development like Zimbali Lakes, there is a tipping point at which a critical mass of sales and activity is reached and from which the demand then grows exponentially. Zimbali Coastal Resort achieved this twice in its 25· year history, Simbithi achieved it when listed group WBHO bought into the development and Palm Lakes Estate achieved it after the late Wim Sak, as master developer, held on and kept the flag flying for over a decade. Zimbali Lakes is now poised to achieve this and from what I can see there will be no looking back.