The Val de Vie Wine and Polo Estate is sited south-east of Paarl in an area that is already famous for its upmarket estates such as the Boschenmeer Golf Estate and the Pearl Valley Golf Estate.
This home offers open living areas, a child-friendly garden overlooking the vineyards, access to polo fields and stabling facilities, and state-of-the-art security. It is currently on the market for R4.2 million – click here to view.This is according to Lizette Joubert, franchisee for the Rawson Property Group’s Paarl franchise. Ryk Neethling, Marketing Director for Val die Vie, says the development is close to reaching its full sell-out stage, but there are always a few resale stands and houses on the market.
He says the demand for these has recently tended to exceed supply and is gaining momentum.
Last year, a total of 130 properties worth just over R200 million were sold. Included in this list were developer stands, houses and resales.
Neethling says the value of property in Val de Vie continues to increase steadily and developer stands in particular, over the last year, have risen some 50% in value. In the last three months of 2014 alone, 17 developer stands were sold, a big increase on previous years.
Joubert says anyone contemplating buying at Val de Vie must realise that it is today perhaps only one of half a dozen gated estates in the whole of Southern Africa, which can claim to not only rival the best estates in Europe, but also to be the leading country estate in Southern Africa.
Val de Vie has garnered a number of international awards, perhaps the most prestigious being two International Property Awards.She says this estate sets new benchmarks in many ways in rural residential development, and will continue to do so.
This bullish opinion is shared by many others. Val de Vie has garnered a number of international awards, perhaps the most prestigious being two International Property Awards. There were 140 entries for these awards, and Val de Vie took the prize for the Best Development (multi units) and also received a highly commended in the Leisure Development category.
Established on what was formerly farmland, Val de Vie is set against the backdrop of the beautiful Drakenstein and Simonsberg in the Paarl-Franschhoek valley.
The 18ha estate was a long-held dream of Martin Venter, who after a ten year search, spotted what he considered to be the ideal site for a development of this kind while flying over it in an aeroplane. He soon decided that this would be the ideal place for others with similar taste, along with him and his family.
The estate’s architectural rulings and building regulations have ensured that every home there conforms to high standards and has the prescribed French Provencal and Cape Colonial design guidelines for which Val de Vie is now famous, says Joubert.
Val de Vie is one of the few country estates in South Africa with many hectares of wide open spaces, complemented by extensive vineyards laid out in the Rhone style, and, in addition, it now has the famous world class polo field on which international matches are regularly played, some of these being sponsored by the prestigious champagne company Veuve Clicquot.
It is also one of the few estates in South Africa to have its own preschool, she says.
Joubert says the state-of-the-art security arrangements implemented at Val de Vie has been one of its big attractions. People will go a long way to find a truly safe home for their families, she says.
These security features have attracted buyers from all over South Arica, and some 10% of today’s buyers at Val die Vie commute from here to other major South African and overseas cities in the sure knowledge that their families are safe.
Every home built at Val de Vie, as indicated, must conform to strict guidelines and controls. Roofs must be at a certain pitch and both roof and walls have to abide by colour codes and other design rulings.
Joubert says by controlling these aspects of the development, the Val die Vie management ensure that no one unit can break the harmony or lower the standards of the estate as a whole, and this in turn safeguards any investment made here.
The professionals involved in this are architects Boogertman and Krige, and the landscape architect is Kobus Meiring. The Val de Vie homeowners’ association has to vet and approve all plans before they are sent to the municipality.
In addition, the building contractors accredited to work at Val de Vie all have to be approved by the management, and only those working to high standards will be accepted.
Another of Val de Vie’s big attractions is that the new owners are encouraged to participate in the ongoing programme of upgrading the landscaping, says Joubert. Every home owner is issued with a list of indigenous plants which they are allowed to use in their gardens and are taught how to nurture them.
Joubert says a further big attraction is that Val de Vie is, in many ways, the front runner in the facilities it provides. Every homeowner and his tenants are given access to the polo club restaurant, the polo pavilion, several squash and tennis courts, a gym with state-of-the-art equipment and a heated 25m indoor pool, as well as access to the polo field and stables.
“It may surprise some people to learn that in a relatively new development like Val die Vie, agents such as myself can survive and do well on resales. However, when one takes note of all that Paarl itself can offer in addition to what Val de Vie can, including its beautiful surroundings, vineyards and mountains, excellent dining and entertainment facilities, very good schools and a wonderful climate, it comes as no surprise that this area is attracting people from all over South Africa and overseas.”
Val de Vie will soon be expanding as a result of having acquired a portion of the farm Kliprug and Levendal Development from the Power Development Group. They are now in a position to erect another 1 904 residences.
This development will be linked to and incorporated with Val de Vie and will be rolled out in phases over the next ten years, thereby enhancing Val de Vie’s already good reputation.
Joubert says in view of the high standards which have been set and maintained ever since Val de Vie kicked off and the facilities that it offers, this is one property development which she can recommend wholeheartedly.
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