Not only is South Africa a beautiful and diverse country, it also has its fair share of outstanding luxury homes.
The number of R20 million houses in SA as of October 2014 was 2 230 compared to 2 100 the year before, according to New World Wealth's annual review of the top suburbs and cities. The Cape has more luxury homes than any other province (813), with Johannesburg in second spot (550), and Durban (185) following behind.
Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard suburbs dominate the list, along with the posh Johannesburg suburbs of Sandhurst and Hyde Park, says New World Wealth analyst, Andrew Amoils.
Other Johannesburg suburbs that feature are Bryanston and Houghton, with 92 and 58 luxury R20 million homes respectively. In Cape Town, Camps Bay tops the list (162) followed by Clifton (105), Bishopscourt (87), Constantia and Tokai (81), Bantry Bay (78), Fresnaye (69), and Llandudno (43).
Holiday hotspots such as Plettenberg Bay and Knysna also feature prominently, says Amoils.
"It is interesting to note that a large percentage (over 25%) of R20 million homes are located on secure estates, either golf estates or lifestyle estates," he says.
Zimbali and Pezula, in particular, are prime estates for such homes while a relatively large number of R20 million homes are bought by foreigners, especially those in Camps Bay, Clifton, Bantry Bay, Llandudno and Fresnaye.
According to Lisa Bathurst, MD of Hurst & Wills, which focuses on bespoke property services for non-residents and foreign buyers in Cape Town, it is evident that the luxury property market has been heating up throughout 2014. "It doesn’t surprise me that 7 out of 10 of the top suburbs are located on the Atlantic Seaboard and in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs. These areas are extremely popular with both affluent locals and Joburg commuters."
There is also a steady supply of overseas investors, not just from Europe, as in the past, but a new wave of buyers from the continent including Nigeria and Angola, says Bathurst. "And they only want the creme de la creme lifestyle properties with the finest views and international standards of design and build."
Famous names in design and architecture certainly help to seal the deals, she says. "If they haven’t bought already, many of these potential buyers are paying extortionate day rates to rent prime real estate - R100k a day is not unheard of in the holiday season, and R20k a day is a good deal.”
She says, interestingly, most sales have been cash, for both locals and foreigners, showing confidence in the property market despite the weak rand - in fact, foreigners splash out more because of it.
That combined with the total property investment increase from R712 million last year to R1.2 billion this year is quite incredible, says Bathurst. "Cape Town is definitely changing. I have seen in the past year, a clear move towards status, brands and unashamed wealth - and obviously this transcends into property purchases.”
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