Malmesbury residential property set to boom

The last few months of 2014 and the first months of 2015 saw housing sales in the Western Cape’s Malmesbury and its surrounding villages, especially Westbank, Chatsworth and Kalbaskraal, reach a high level.

This two bedroom, three bathroom house for sale in Malmesbury has wooden floors, and has been renovated recently. The home is selling for R994 000 - click here to view.

This is according to Schalk Liebenberg, the Rawson Property Group’s franchisee for Malmesbury, who says although there has now been a slight slowdown, in the not-too-distant future, the completion of two major projects is likely to breathe new life into the property market here.

These projects are the dual carriageway from Malmesbury to the outskirts of Cape Town, with a link to Riebeek Kasteel, and the major new business hub on which work will start in the new year on the old show grounds. Both projects will come on stream in stages during 2016.

Liebenberg says the new highway will make it possible, even at peak traffic times, to cover the 60km to Cape Town in 45 to 60 minutes, and even less in off-peak hours, and will reinforce the growing trend to live in Malmesbury and commute to the Cape Town CBD, Bellville, Parow and similar areas.

“Sixty kilometres may seem a long way to travel to work, but it is accepted by the growing number of people who choose to live in Malmesbury,” he says.

They do this because the town and its surroundings are quiet, peaceful and friendly, and because there is a wonderful community spirit here. We also have excellent retail, medical and educational facilities and, above all, very low crime statistics, a fact which is especially appealing to many people these days.”

This four bedroom, three bathroom home is selling in the Mount Royal Golf Estate in Malmesbury. The house is built on a double plot, and has a swimming pool. It is on the market for R3.9 million - click here to view.

Even if one lives in the centre of the town, he says the rural atmosphere is always felt. Traffic is never congested and people here are very seldom in too much of a hurry to be courteous.

Liebenberg says the new business hub will be anchored by a major retail outlet and will have about 70 offices, cinemas, line shops, restaurants and convenience stores.

“What makes this centre really important is that for the first time in many years new commercial enterprises will be able to find premises.”

For some years it has been difficult for many businesses to find space in Malmesbury zoned for their use, he says.

The influx from other areas to Malmesbury has been well documented by the local press, and he says this will continue as, in any given month, roughly half of the potential buyers he deals with are not from Malmesbury, but from elsewhere. What is more, Liebenberg says the buyers come from all income groups.

In Chatsworth and Kalbaskraal, he says houses can now be bought for R500 000 to R750 000, and in Kalbaskraal 2 000sqm plots are on the market at around R250 000. 

Many buyers coming to this area are able, with relatively little help, to become fairly proficient owner-builders.

This three bedroom, one bathroom house for sale in Chatsworth has is recently renovated, and selling for R370 000 - click here to view.

In Malmesbury itself, Liebenberg says most of the homes sell in the R1.5 million to R2 million price range. Earlier this year a gracious historic home in Voortrekker Road was sold for R2.4 million, and he says Malmesbury can offer buyers equally attractive homes at anything up to R5 million.

“Unlike areas close to Cape Town, we have no shortages of stock, and it remains true that in Malmesbury the buyer will get double the space and comfort that he would get for the same money in most Cape Town suburbs,” he says.