Chantal Williams, leasing and sales broker for JHI Properties in Durban, seen at the Silverton Road property with renowned former Springbok rugby player and services manager of SA Rugby Legends, Pieter Muller. SA Rugby Legends has leased office space in the building.
Demand for commercial property in prime locations in Durban and to the north of the city continues to sustain the market.
This is the view of Chantal Williams, a top leasing and sales broker at JHI Properties in KwaZulu-Natal.
In 2011 Williams concluded more than 85 transactions for the lease and sale of commercial property in the region, receiving an award for achieving the highest individual sales turnover in 2011 for any JHI Properties broker nationally.
“Standalone homes converted to commercial use and situated in good locations in Durban’s Morningside area, as well as prime office accommodation in La Lucia Office Park continue to solicit a high level of interest,” she said.
“The nodes which are most in demand are predominantly Morningside, Durban North and Umhlanga, with the size range mainly from 80 to 500m2 most sought after, and occasionally slightly larger premises… Businesses showing interest in the marketplace in general are call centres, financial corporations; IT related businesses and retail stores.
“The retail trade remains strong, particularly in the Musgrave Road area and Morningside. There seems to be a surge in new business ventures within these nodes, including cocktail bars, restaurants and retail outlets. There are also enquiries from those previously working from home now seeking business premises,” said Williams.
In Musgrave’s Silverton Road, Williams recently concluded a transaction for the lease of office space for SA Rugby Legends.
She said achievable rentals in the Morningside area varied according to location, with the Florida Road/Cowey Road and Windermere Road nodes fetching rentals of R100 per m2 for A-grade premises with on-site parking and good exposure.
In the lower end of Morningside in the Stamfordhill Road area rentals achieved are in the region of R75 per m2. In the Musgrave area, where some 3 000m2 of office stock is available, asking rentals are from R100 per m2.
“In the areas north of the Umgeni River, including Durban North, La Lucia and Umhlanga, depending on location and the grading, premises can achieve rentals of R100 per m2 upwards and generally the smaller the size, the higher the rental,” said Williams.
In the new Ridgeside area in Umhlanga, rentals of R135 per m2 are being achieved for office space with sea views. Riverhorse Valley is also within the growth node north of Durban, where rentals range in the region of R85 per m2.
Williams recently concluded the lease of 760m2 of office space in Riverhorse Valley for SmartWorx BPO, a company headquartered in Durban, which provides outsourced business solutions.
Tumbikani Nyasulu, CEO of Smartworx BPO, said it was important for the company to position its contact centre close to the target employment pool in the areas of Newlands, KwaMashu, Phoenix, Inanda and Durban’s CBD.
“We also considered the prevailing rental rates at the time and Riverhorse Valley provided a sound balance in terms of property size, location and cost – which at sub-R100 per m2 was quite compelling,” he said.
Meanwhile, Williams said the Durban CBD was still popular, with the drawcard being the relatively good public transport into the city centre.
She recently concluded a transaction for 1 036m2 of office accommodation for the LikeMinds call centre.
The company relocated to Durban Bay House, a building which has been upgraded to AAA-grade status.
Craig Ireland, director of LikeMinds, said the decision to take up residence in the CBD was based on the fact that all their staff use public transport.
“Being in the city centre makes it very easy for staff to commute from a number of different locations, coupled with the fact that the concentration of retail in the CBD is a positive factor for our staff.
“A further attraction is the rejuvenation of the building, which will enable it to attract a good calibre of tenant as well as additional business,” said Ireland.
