Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa REIM February 2018 | Page 28

DEVELOPMENTS
Putting the Life Back In
Lifestyle Estates
LIFESTYLE ESTATE
Changing the way we think
about developments
BY OTTO BAM
O
ver the last decade, the Western Cape has seen a signif-
icant influx of homeowners. A noteworthy example is
the dynamic town of Stellenbosch. Highly sought after
with a wide range of buyers, it represents an intersection of var-
ious thriving sectors:
Education
The highly regarded Stellenbosch University sees thousands
of students attending each year. Along with this, the town is
home to many of the country’s top schools. These factors mean
that, over the past few years, residential space within the town
centre has become scarce. As the town’s population booms,
many homeowners are opting to convert their properties into
rental-income student homes. The result is that property prices
within the town have soared.
With growing demand for quality homes near Stel-
lenbosch, new developments are shifting the fence
on what estates offer their residents.
Business & Tech “It’s all about adding value”, believes Nooitgedacht
Village Managing Director, Werner Wirth. The Nooit-
gedacht Village lifestyle offering therefore not only
relies on its prime location and picturesque setting
among vineyards on the historical farm, but has
added an office park and retail components.
Culture & Leisure The Village Piazza will offer residents a charming
day-to-day living experience – from relaxing lunches
to productive meetings. The Village will also feature
boutique shops, apartments, penthouse apartments
and other commercial and retail components.
Stellenbosch is the chosen location for offices of many major
businesses and brands, including Medi-Clinic, Capitec Bank,
PWC, Parmalat and Distell. Many young techpreneurs are also
opting to base their businesses here, giving rise to a thriving
community of young professionals.
Possibly the town’s most famous draw card, Stellenbosch is lo-
cated amongst several award-winning wine farms. Along with
this, the town’s location lends itself to a life of outdoor adven-
tures – with awe-inspiring natural surroundings and countless
mountain trails. Not to be left behind are the award-winning
restaurants and hotels.
These factors all contribute to the rising costs of proper-
ty within the town. As a result, many are looking outside the
boundaries of Stellenbosch, and most like what they see. Estate
living has been growing in national popularity, as more South
Africans are looking for safe and easy-to-maintain homes.
Adding to their popularity, estates have also shown to be
some of the steadier real estate investments available. Paul-
Roux de Kock, Analytics Director at Lightstone, explains that
“Although luxury-market buyers are under pressure, the es-
tate-housing market, in general, doesn’t dip as low or peak as
high as the rest of the luxury market. We therefore expect it
to outperform the luxury market during the current downturn”.
The demand for a “live, work, play” lifestyle is high and is
now being met by forward-thinking developers. Married with
an area primed for expansion, it seems to be a match made in
heaven for investors.
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CASE STUDY: NOOITGEDACHT
VILLAGE
FEBRUARY 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
The integrated lifestyle component of the estate is
becoming increasingly popular. It allows residents
to stay in the Village, quickly heading up the street
to grab a coffee or breakfast, and walk to the office.
This means that in addition to the usual package of
secure living, space to enjoy leisure activities such
as mountain biking and horse riding, golfing and
beautiful surroundings, residents become part of
a civic-minded community and are ideally located
to work and develop their businesses. Residents
can work, socialise, and live in one integrated
neighbourhood positioned in a dream-like setting,
near other centres (including Cape Town, Paarl, Fran-
schhoek and Durbanville), with Cape Town Interna-
tional Airport a quick 30-minutes’ drive away.