Historic Durbanville tops the Cape Northern Suburbs property list

From its earliest inception Durbanville has been seen by Capetonians as prestigious, exclusive and a cut above other Cape Town Northern Suburbs. Originally known as Pampoenkraal, the town was established in 1825 by Benjamin D’Urban, then Governor of the Cape, and called simply D’Urban, but after the British annexed Natal in 1843 and gave its largest town that name, the Cape D”Urban became Durbanville so as to avoid confusion. Its reputation was almost immediately enhanced by being one of the very few country towns to be given a Dutch Reformed Church, completed in 1826.

“For those who can afford it, there can be very few better residential property buys than a home in Durbanville. Those who live here testify time and again that it offers a wonderful community-orientated, semi-rural lifestyle and a low crime rate, coupled to top-rate educational, retail and entertainment facilities,” says Alexander.

Another factor which conferred prestige on the town was that under the King brothers it became the centre of the Cape’s largest wagon building industry. Spurred on by the huge need for transport to service the diamond rush from 1870 onwards, the business grew to the point where it employed 200 people. The town’s reputation was then further enhanced by its being able to attract several good viticulturists to establish vineyards around it, many of which are now famous.

Today, Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart Property, which has recently established a branch in Durbanville, says Durbanville’s association with Cape history is being brought to its residents’ notice by the restoration of its historic Heritage Square and surrounding buildings.

Durbanville residents, he says, appreciate the ‘sense of identity’, of being part of a separate community with its own character that Durbanville gives to them.

“These and certain other factors have made Durbanville the town to which a great many Northern Suburbs residents aspire to move to one day if and when they can afford to upgrade,” says Alexander.

“What is more, a fair number of Southern Suburbs people, looking for a village atmosphere and a more rural lifestyle as well as the larger plots and homes that are often found in Durbanville, are now also moving here.”

He says Durbanville’s high degree of sophistication is shown by the fact that it has no less than 76 listed restaurants and bistros, most of which are well patronised, 12 of them being on nearby wine estates. It also has three hotels and 33 B&Bs and guesthouses, a race track (for horses not cars), a polo ground and show jumping venues, cricket, rugby and soccer clubs and several keep fit gyms.

Today, of the 23 616 properties in Durbanville, almost 60% are in gated estates - another reason for the high and steady price growth - or sectional title schemes, and new developments continue to take place in the area.

The wine estate Hillcrest regularly sponsors events such as the Brandy and Boerewors, Olive and Sauvignon Blanc Festivals and many other estates have MTB and walking trails. Alexander says a very high percentage of the residents make use of these facilities regularly.

Alexander says the growing affluence of residents in the area has also had an effect on its educational facilities. It was here that the first Curro Primary School was established, and today the area is said to have the highest concentration of primary schools in South Africa - 18 in all, including Durbanville Preparatory, Durbanville Primary, Eversdal Primary, Gene Louw Primary, Kenridge Primary, Chester House, El Shaddai Christian School and Reddam School. There are also three well-known high schools, many of them linked to primary schools.

Alexander says Durbanville’s perennial appeal has for some time now resulted in an influx of upper-income buyers. According to the analysts, Lightstone, average family incomes here are in the R70 000 to R90 000 per month bracket, almost the highest category in South Africa today, and the area’s property prices rank it 30th among towns in South Africa, on roughly the same level as Somerset West and Simons Town.

Median prices for homes in Durbanville rose from R1.18 million in 2007 to R2.2 million in 2017 (thus far), and a staggering R2.8 billion has been turned over in property sales over the last year.

Today, of the 23 616 properties in Durbanville, almost 60% are in gated estates - another reason for the high and steady price growth - or sectional title schemes, and new developments continue to take place in the area, some of the better known at the moment being Clara Anna Fontein, Klein D’Aria, 23 Boland, Fifth on Murray and Heerenzicht.

Alexander says freehold units today sell for between R3.5 million and R30 million. In the sectional title market, the average price over the last year has been R945 000, and the price for vacant land has been R1.245 million.

“For those who can afford it, there can be very few better residential property buys than a home in Durbanville. Those who live here testify time and again that it offers a wonderful community-orientated, semi-rural lifestyle and a low crime rate, coupled to top-rate educational, retail and entertainment facilities,” says Alexander.