Residents of Cape Town’s Kalk Bay have always rated their False Bay village as a pretty peachy place to live, and now Forbes magazine has backed them up by officially naming it as one of the 12 ‘coolest’ neighbourhoods in the world.
This is according to John Silva, a long-time resident and the area specialist for the Chas Everitt International, who says already a magnet for both local and international tourists, the village offers a working fishing harbour, interesting architecture, a long coastal walkway and even whale watching in season. It is known for its trendy restaurants, cafés, pubs and a plethora of bookshops, boutiques and antique stores along Main Street.
In addition, it is also home to a highly multicultural and cosmopolitan community of actors, artists, authors, chefs, musicians, poets and potters, as well as fishermen, hoteliers, restaurateurs and shopkeepers, and the laidback lifestyle enjoyed by this community is so attractive to prospective residents that there is a perennial shortage of homes for sale in Kalk Bay, says Silva.
He says once people become owners in Kalk Bay, they seldom want to leave.
“In fact, the figures from property data company Lightstone show that more than 50% of homeowners in Kalk Bay have lived there for 11 years or more, and another 27% have lived there for between 5 and 10 years.”
Average property prices in Kalk Bay last year were R3.85 million for sectional title apartments and R3.9 million for freehold homes, according to Lightstone, but prices have risen since then due to the shortage of supply.
Two bedroom apartments and cottages with sea views now start at around R3.5 million and freehold homes with at least three bedrooms and sea views at around R5 million - ranging all the way up to around R15 million. At Majestic Village, the sought-after apartment complex redeveloped some years ago from the old Kings and Majestic hotels, the most recent sales of two bedroom apartments were for around R6 million.
“There are very strict controls over any sort of new housing development in the village, so any pre-owned homes that do come on to the market are usually snapped up pretty fast, especially if they have any historical significance,” says Silva.
Beaufort Villa is one such residence currently on the market for R7.95 million. It is one of the oldest (and coolest) homes in Kalk Bay, and at one time the holiday home of Sir John Molteno, the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony.
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