Relaxed rural lifestyle in Cape Town’s Noordhoek

The emerging trend of families looking to exchange the convenience of city living for a more relaxed lifestyle away from the bright lights has impacted positively on the residential markets in many sought-after areas, with several of Cape Town’s outer-lying suburbs experiencing a notable spike in demand, as well as record sale prices.

This is according to Steve Thomas, franchise manager for Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty in False Bay and Noordhoek, who says with its rural tranquillity and relaxed outdoor lifestyle, Noordhoek has become increasingly popular with investors.

Not only has demand increased exponentially in the last three years, he says the suburb has also achieved one of the highest price growths in the country.

Thomas says Noordhoek is becoming increasingly attractive to young families and aspiring professionals, and they are now also experiencing an overflow from Constantia where there is a lack of available land for development and house prices are substantially higher.

He says the current stock shortage is fueling the steadily rising property values in the area, which is resulting in record sale prices.

“Most recent was a sale in Lake Michelle which fetched R8.15 million for a luxurious modern lakeside home, comfortably breaking the previous record price of R7 million achieved in the secure estate.”

Lew Geffen, chairman of Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty, says aside from its idyllic location, one of Noordhoek’s biggest drawcards is the fact that the market caters to investors across the market spectrum, offering a wide range of property options across all price bands.

“PropStats records for the first half of 2015 indicate that the average price for a freestanding home in Noordhoek is around R4.2 million, but some areas such as Noordsig and Noordhaven are priced much higher because of their position,” he says.

“At the entry level, R3.5 million will buy a comfortable older house that would benefit from a little TLC and modernisation, and at the top of the scale R30 million will buy an opulent estate in a spectacular setting.”

Although Noordhoek is made up of several suburbs, there are essentially two parts to this village, namely the more suburban Sun Valley area that is regarded as Noordhoek Proper and situated nearer the beach, and Chapman’s Peak, which is more rural and home to the equestrian estates and larger properties.

Thomas says the changing demographic is also changing the property landscape in Noordhoek, with the past decade seeing the introduction of security estates to the area.

“Secure lifestyle estates are especially popular with young parents who like the idea of their children being able to play outdoors safely, and properties in developments like Lake Michelle are quickly snapped up,” he says.

“This trend shows no signs of abating and there are a number of proposed new developments in the pipeline to meet the growing demand.”

Also in the pipeline are proposed upgrades for Noordhoek’s roads and infrastructure to cope with its burgeoning population.

Thomas says traditionally on the fringes of the arty and surfing community, Noordhoek has become increasingly cosmopolitan in recent years and they are now fielding queries from a much wider demographic, including retirees from Gauteng and returning expats.

Noordhoek is also not as far off the beaten track as often perceived, being only a short drive from business parks like Westlake and within easy access of several excellent schools such as Reddam.

Residents also have a choice of top-class shopping malls, as well as Noordhoek’s own charming retail and entertainment facilities such as Noordhoek Farm Village which attracts many weekend visitors from all over Cape Town, says Thomas.