Langebaan Golf and Country Estate
Western Cape
Arabella Country Estate
“ Property located in security estates is valued at about three times more than normal freehold property ,” according to a recent Lightstone Property report , “ but the estate housing market in general doesn ’ t dip as low or peak as high as the rest of the luxury market ”.
“ This is not only because of the heightened level of security offered , but also because estates are excellent investments and because developers are increasingly including lifestyle elements like golfing and fishing , and even schools and hospitals ,” says the report .
The country estate is best defined by its natural or wildlife-based environment . Some have golf courses , but the emphasis is on nature , spectacular countryside , views and an absence of the traffic congestion found closer to the CBD . Many of them seek to be environmentally sustainable , introducing dams for their own water use , with a country club as the social centre for the residents . And as their appeal to retirees increases , some are adding health and frail care facilities to their offerings .
In the Western Cape , country estates flung far out of Cape Town are noticing a distinct trend towards younger families buying to escape the growing stresses of city life .
Prominent among these is Arabella Country Estate , less than 30 km from Hermanus and 7km from Kleinmond in the Overberg . Private hospitals , good schools and shopping centres nearby make this a great choice for young and old alike , and the easily accessible transport links to the rest of Cape Town are particularly attractive to city executives who want to be able to work in the city but live in the country .
Previously considered too exclusive for the middle class and too far removed for families with school-going children , the estate is now favoured amongst younger families , who are drawn to the improved and latest fibre connectivity and the adjacent Curro School in Sandbaai , Hermanus , which offers private , bilingual learning to children up until Grade 10 .
Residential erven at Arabella comprise only 12 % of this 113ha estate , with 237 freehold properties varying in size from 550 to 2900 square metres , most of which have picturesque views of the 1.6 kms of lagoon frontage , golf course and mountains . Prices start at around R3.1million .
Then , in the Durbanville area and just a 20 minute drive from Cape Town CBD is the upmarket Clara Anna Fontein .
Clara Anna Fontein consists of 344 single residential erven of generous proportions , mostly with spectacular views , and sales of these – upwards of R2 million – have been strong . In March , there were only nine plots left . www . estate-living . com | 27