IMPROVING PRICES GOES BEYOND JUST CURB APPEAL
- Business Sense
- 24 hours ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
First impressions count and clean neat neighbourhoods, which are known for service delivery and safety are likely to add significantly to house prices. This is a factor that those campaigning ahead of upcoming local government elections and voting for representatives would do well to note.
Anna Rhodes-Jones, Tyson Property Glenwood director, says that one of Durban’s oldest Urban Improvement Precincts (UIPs) – often referred to as Special Rating Areas – is the perfect example of why curb appeal goes way beyond a seller simply applying a quick coat of paint to refresh their house or buying a few new plants for the front garden.
Yes, neighbourhoods thrive on access to good schools and universities, hospitals and proximity to amenities including shopping centres and green spaces – but underpinning that is just how appealing the neighbourhood appears when driving through its streets.
UIPs are not new and are designed to protect and enhance property values by bringing the municipality, local residents and businesses together to improve safety, cleanliness, and overall attractiveness of a designated area. These require the approval of 66% of residential property owners who are prepared to pay over and above their rates bills to provide top up services.
Rhodes-Jones says neighbourhoods where communities work in unison to ensure the pavements are free from weeds and cracked or broken sidewalks are repaired is vital to attracting new property owners and buyers. “While recognising it is the local municipality’s responsibility to repair pavements and remove the weeds from common space, the reality is this doesn’t happen. By pulling together to take action rather than bemoan the situation, neighbourhoods can create a sense of community pride,” she says.
This in turn boosts general perceptions including security and thus property appeal and prices. The collaboration among the various urban improvement precincts (UIPs) operating across Glenwood in Durban is a case in point.
The communities are cutting the grass and removing the weeds from the spaces in front of their homes and caring for the parks and green belts in the neighbourhood. The outcome reflects how a change in mindset from “it’s someone else’s responsibility” to taking charge can reverse urban decay. “The residents have taken back their community by actively participating in verge clearances and an improved general impression. Rather than waiting for the municipality to fix things, residents are doing the simple repairs themselves or applying pressure on the municipal officials to do their jobs,” she says.
Glenwood dates back to the late 1800s and encompasses some of Durban’s best-maintained Art Deco-period buildings listed with the KwaZulu-Natal Amafa and Research Institute, the statutory body managing the province’s heritage resources.
“As with any neighbourhood with era-specific properties, it is essential to adhere to the by-laws that preserve this heritage. Owners purchase in areas speaking to a sense of history because they want to continue that tradition – and in Glenwood that means not removing the stained-glass windows and Natal Colonial architecture from listed entities,” she says.
The Cowies Hill Estate (CHE) was established six years ago by residents wishing to protect the integrity of another of Durban’s older suburbs, this time in the Upper Highway area. It has delivered in terms of improved safety thanks to stepped up street patrols, litter clearance, greening and environmental maintenance, boosted response to service outages as well as created a vibrant chat group that serves as the eyes and ears of the neighbourhood.
Going north, the residents and businesses of upmarket uMhlanga have also worked together to make a difference – this time, with some statistics to prove it. The recent UIP Perception Survey shows stronger ratings and higher confidence in the area which has been on a clear upward trajectory since 2023. The experience rating increased to 8.84 out of 10, up from 7.94 in 2025 and 7.55 in 2024.
Safety is a key strength with 95% of respondents in the survey stating that they felt safe in the precinct which remains one of the province’s property investment strongholds.
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