Marcus Park launches US$3m housing project
PROPERTY developer Marcus Communications Pvt Ltd (MCPL), trading as Marcus Park (MP), has launched the second phase of its US$3 million eco-friendly property development in Ruwa.
More than 414 housing units are available and will be sold in four phases, according to MCPL managing director Nick Bakaris.
Phase 1 of the development had 56 single-storey units which were sold while construction of the units is underway.
The second, third and fourth phases of the project will build about 358 units and has three different housing plans, namely, four, five and six-bedroomed duplex units. Phases three and four include 58 one and two-bedroomed apartments.
Currently on sale, from phase two, are duplex units built on 250 square metre pieces of land that have four bathrooms (three ensuite), kitchen, study and two lounges, selling at US$120 000 per unit.
“Well with Marcus Park alone, we didn’t want to sell anything until we had full title. We believe that is the right way a developer should put something together,” Bakaris told NewsDay Business at the launch of phase two of the Ruwa development programme on Saturday.
“We didn’t want to be the guys saying: ‘We will one day put the roads here, we will one day put the pipes here or one day we will do this.’ So, we kind of got it to the finish line. We got our compliance certificates from the local authority (Ruwa), which have been very helpful.
“We then went and got our official title deeds. We are now at a point where with our official title we can now go to our customers, and say you can get an instant title the moment you pay for your unit.
“So far, we have put close to US$3 million into this investment to get it to the point where it’s now ready to be rolled out to the public.”
The project started five years ago and is a flagship project for Marcus Park according to Bakaris.
South African-based realtor, Pam Golding Properties’ local office has the sole mandate to sell the stands and will be working with the property developer over the next six months.
Pam Golding sales negotiator Kate Worsley-Worswick told NewsDay Business that the realtor got the sole mandate about two months ago.
“When an estate agent works with a developer such as Marcus Park, we usually sign a mandate. We have a sole mandate which means we are the only agency that can sell this phase of the development. No one else is allowed to sell it,” she said.
“I think the advantages of that are that when you are marketing the project it doesn’t really dilute it so it’s all kind of concentrated. At Pam Golding, we have a really good buying pool so we have good buyers and a reputation. We are a South African franchise which means we have to adhere to standards.”
She said the realtor would be leveraging on its expertise and reputation on the market to sell stands, a strategy that has so far worked well even under the current environment.-newsday
