A number of families are choosing to settle in the tranquil Northern Suburbs of the Western Cape due to their close proximity to excellent schools and amenities offering good value for money when investing in a new home.
Brackenfell, Durbanville, Vredekloof, Sonkring and surrounds has so much to offer family buyers with well-established schools, outdoor activities, new developments such as Grandeur Estate, many great amenities, outstanding medical facilities. Being close to a reputable school has always added great value to any home.
The Northern Suburbs is described as one of the 'coolest' gems, home to people from all walks of life and well-known South Africans from Springbok rugby players, to singers, actors, artist and the first South African in space - to name a few.
Good supply of schools
Rowan Alexander, Director of the Cape Town Northern Suburbs estate agency, Alexander Swart Property, says there is a growing tendency for both parents to have to work, and often the children need to be able to get to and from school on their own. Nowhere is this increased value of homes close to schools more evident than in Brackenfell. If one looks at suburbs such as Vredekloof, Sonkring, Burgundy and Morgenster Heights, it is quite clear that being close to schools has raised home values.
The same price pattern is evident in many of the Durbanville suburbs and Century City. Here suburbs such as Clara Anna Fontein, Valmary Park, Eversdal, Durbanville Hills and Graanendal have average values significantly higher than the area average due to a good supply of schools.
Alexander says developers have fully understood the value of proximity to a good school. They almost always tend to incorporate a new school into any major development like at Clara Anna Fontein and Century City. These are increasingly more likely to be private rather than state institutions, and parents are making big sacrifices to send their children to these high-cost establishments.
'Community-driven neighbourhood watches'
There is a selection of properties from waterfront apartments to townhouses, well-established estates like Welgedacht and freestanding homes in treelined streets. Many neighbourhood watches and community-driven activities increase security, like Vierlanden Neighbourhood watch and Welgemoed Safe who has been operating a camera monitoring systems and whose mission is to work together to maintain a safe, clean and sustainable area. Durbanville has the feel of a big country town where community is important, most buyers are families with children. There is a big equestrian fraternity and the Durbanville racecourse is a well-known landmark in the area.
Annien Borg, MD for Pam Golding Properties in the Boland & Overberg says 80% of buyers in the Northern Suburbs buy in the Northern Suburbs again. Either moving to be in a specific schools catchment area or moving from surrounding suburbs into estates like Welgedacht, Kanonberg, Heerenzicht, Clara Anna Fontein. They are professional people with many in the financial or medical field due to the ample hospitals in the area like Tygerberg, Louis Leipold, Durbanville Medicity and Carl Bremmer to name a few.
Sellers sell mostly to buy in the area again either to look to downscale or to upscale, others move to areas like Onrus and Hermanus to retire. 45% of sellers in fact have stayed in their homes for 11 years and longer. Some sellers did sell to leave the country, but many have changed their minds due to the worldwide pandemic, says Borg.
'R1.5 million to R2 million remains a popular price band'
Some interesting trends have emerged in the Northern Suburbs over the last three months, reports Jacques Le Sueur, Sales Partner Rawson Properties Brackenfell/Kraaifontein.
He says 67% of buyers are those looking to enter the market for the first time including tenants with the most popular price bands between are homes between R1.5 million to R2 million.
"Activity has been excellent over the last three months with our Welgemoed and Durbanville offices reporting record sales. If properties are priced correctly they sell fast no matter what the price bracket. We in fact have a shortage of stock to offer potential buyers. Buyers are taking advantage of the lower interest rates to upscale to homes with either a bit bigger space as many people are now working from home and don’t need to commute to work, or moving from apartments to a townhouse with small gardens," states Borg.
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"We have also seen a new trend of people moving out of the city as they don’t need to be close to work and looking at what lifestyle option areas like Durbanville and Welgemoed have to offer. Lockdown has made people re-look at their lifestyle and what their needs would be if it happened again. Although there is interest from buyers they are definitely taking their time to find the right home for the best price. Therefore my advice would be, consult with your agent about pricing your home correctly to draw attention to your home. An experienced agent with knowledge of your area will be able to guide you through this process and give you their market insights, for you to make the best decision when putting your property on the market."
The most popular price bracket is below R3 million, but Borg says they have seen good activity in the top end too. "Estelle Laas from our Durbanville office recently sold a property in Vierlanden for R9.995 million and our Welgemoed agent, Melanie Fortmuller a property for R7.6 million in Welgemoed. Correctly priced properties between R4 and R6 million are low and there is a demand for it."
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