Bains Game Lodge – Hidden gem a stone throw away from Langenhovenpark

Bains Game Lodge is a complex merely a stone throw away from Langenhovenpark. In fact, it is regularly advertised as Langenhovenpark whereas the correct suburb is Spitskop / Vredenhof Small Holdings. The aim of this article is to provide investors and potential investors with some more information on this popular complex.

From the main road people often underestimate the size of Bains Game Lodge. But there is a total of 678 units comprising 23 Blocks, which includes the Hotel blocks when entering. All blocks have 3 floors when including the ground floor. The complex is 15 years old but its popularity has not decreased. One of the core advantages of this specific sectional scheme is the fact that it is on major taxi routes and so close to Langenhovenpark. In recent years we haves seen a constant expansion of Langenhovenpark towards Bains Game Lodge including the location where Oranje Toyota is currently located.

In terms of the units itself, there is a wide variety of sized to choose from. The unit sizes that are currently on offer are 24 m², 25 m², 33m², 37m², 43m², 47m² and 63m². The most popular of these by far the 24/25m² units. This is primarily due to the lower process as well as the number of these units in the scheme. We are often asked which floors are the most popular. We have found that this all depends of Purchaser preferences. Some purchasers prefer the first or second floors for security reasons while other prefer the ground floor as they want some form of a garden feel.

So what happened in the market in Bains Game Lodge over the past few years and specifically in 2021 you might ask. Well, we have seen an increase in sales in 2021 to a total of 77 registrations from the 62 in 2020. During 2020, when COVID lockdowns were also felt in this segment we only had 49 registration in comparison with the 68 of 2018 and the 71 of 2017. The median price decreased from R 430 000 in 2020 to R 415 000 in 2021. The median prices of the preceding three years were R 395 000 in 2018, R 428 000 in 2019 and R 430 000 in 2020. Our assumption is the decrease in median price between 2020 and 2021 was also due to COVID. Another note we want to add is that these statistics is based on registrations and not sales within this period.

So who are buying in Bains Game Lodge? In our experience over the last few years there is a very similar mix between investors as well as owners who live there themselves. We also see a mix of students residing in Bains, young working people as well as units being rented out to contractors. When looking a little deeper we find that 48% of recent buyers were in the age group 18 to 35, 35% were in the age group 36 to 49, 15% were in the age group 50 to 64 and only 2% were in the age group 65 and older. Within the grounds there is a laundromat making laundry so much easier. There is also restaurants and from time to time a small tuckshop. Contrary to what is sometimes told to prospective buyers the swimming pool in front is not for use by the owners or tenants of the privately owned units. Most loans were provide by ABSA during 2021, followed by FNB, then Standard Bank, Nedbank and Investec. A small number of loans were approved by SA Home Loans.

As with any other complex we also have sellers who are selling their units. Most of our previous sellers are investors looking for other investment opportunities (sometimes closer to where they reside) as well as parents who bought the units for their children while studying in Bloemfontein. We see that the biggest portion of sellers (61%) was in the age group 18 to 35 followed by 19% in the age group 36 to 49, 15% in the age group 50 to 64 and only 6% in the age category 65 and up. When looking at ownership duration in the complex we see that the most owners (44%) has owned their units for 5 to 7 years followed by owners who have owned their units for less than 5 years (34%). 12% have owned their units for 8 to 10 years and 11% for 11 years or more.

The buildings are managed by Platinum Global who is the Body Corporate. Most units have water meters included for easy management of the consumption. When looking at electricity we find that blocks are metered differently. Some blocks have conventional metering where meters are read and consumption the billed, some do have prepaid and one block must purchase their electricity directly from the Body Corporate. Block B also receives a shared portion for electricity for the communal water heating unit in the roof. Please keep this in mind when buying in this block as you will still receive a shared account even when the unit is vacant.

As mentioned earlier, Bains is especially popular due to its location on major transport routes and its close proximity to various amenities. The University of the Free State is a mere 4.22 km away while CTU training solutions is only 0.95km away. The closest filling station is only 0.99km away and the closest medical practitioner 1.2km. Bains is also easily accessible from the N1 and have most of the needed amenities close by.

Hashtag Real Estate has been selling in Bains Game Lodge with great success and we have investors constantly looking for new investment opportunities. We hope that this article have given you some more clarity and insight into the reason why we love selling units in this stable complex with its excellent location!