Thesen Islands

Thesen Islands

Category Area Focus

Thesen Islands has become Knysna's biggest selling suburb, despite the premium that property in this prime waterside location attracts.

 Live right on the water. Watch the tide coming in and out twice a day. This unique property is situated in the very safe and sought-after Estate of Thesen Island, Fairmile Point. 5 of these units are iconically build in this section and rarely come on the market for sale so do not miss out on this Real Estate investment opportunity. 

This is according to Seeff, homeowners will be thrilled to know that they have made the right decision, while for sellers it has never been a better time to sell.

Moving from a position of oversupply after the 2007/8-downturn, they are now sitting with a severe undersupply of stock, and stream of cash-ready buyers lining up for the next listing in the price range of R4,5mill to R8mill.

Activity has been building over the last three years, and for the last calendar year, despite the pandemic sales in Thesen Island accounted for a quarter of all residential sales in Knysna. The suburb also shows the highest average price per unit sold,

Thesen Island has had a total sales value of R111 840million since the start of the pandemic to date.

According to Seeff the boom in this area continues, and registered sales for the first two months of this year is already 34% up in value terms when compared to last year. We are seeing many families moving into Knysna since the pandemic as people realise, they can work remotely. Thesen offers a fantastic safe lifestyle for the whole family.

It is clearly a sellers' market in this area, and the statistics support this. Thesen Islands comprise of 514 freehold residential homes and 56 apartments.

According to the sales trend since March 2020, about 20 units changed hands. With demand outstripping supply, they are also seeing a boom in the capital value growth of homes in the suburb.

The average price which includes the 'Dry Mill' apartments, but excludes the islands and business premises, has moved from R5 222million in 2014 to R7 920million in 2020|2021, and with 14 registered transfers in 2020|2021it is quite extraordinary in the current market conditions.

Aside from the prime waterside location propelling the suburb to the most sought-after in Knysna, it delivers on several factors that have become critical for today's home buyers.

 The house is modern, light, and airy, very spacious open plan lounge, dining and kitchen and a 'sun'/bar room, all with open vistas, situated as it is on a wide waterway with views down one of the longest waterways on Thesen, which gives one extremely easy access to the lagoon without having to meander through many waterways

Security is at the top of the list, and Thesen Islands has one of the most effective security control systems in place, this is critical, especially given that a large portion of homes in the suburb are holiday homes.

But this aspect is not unique to Thesen Islands, so why is it outstripping other security estates in the area? The answer might be due to it creating a feeling of freedom, and not being imprisoned behind barbed wire and walls.

There are no walls on the lagoon side, and the freedom that this creates accentuates the secure aspect of living. Children can walk or play freely or paddle their kayaks. Residents also have direct access to the Knysna lagoon from their patios.

The facilities that encourage an active lifestyle, a safe and secure beach, sports facilities including a nine-hole golf putting course, all carefully integrated into the environment, make it is easy to see why the demand is now so strong in this area.

Right now, the selling conditions are excellent, with buyers aplenty paying good prices, but sellers should not hesitate for too long, especially in view of the recent cautionary notes signalled by the banks.

Author: 1100