Pierre Germishuys
Seeff West Coast
licensee
According to agents from the Seeff Property Group, the small West Coast towns and villages are no longer just for holidays and retirement. More people are moving into areas such as Langebaan, Yzerfontein, and further afield to St Helena Bay and Elands Bay.
The beautiful fishing villages, many with white-washed Cape vernacular architecture, have seen a strong shift in sales activities during the market boom of 2021/1. The wealth migration to the West Coast is seeing prices of up to R5 million to R8 million being paid for luxury homes in Langebaan. People working or with businesses in Saldanha and Vredenburg and those who come to the West Coast for contracts and other business reasons often prefer to settle in places such as Langebaan. According to Lightstone data, this has boosted the Langebaan property market, where transactions worth over R1.3 billion were recorded for the twelve months up to the end of September.
Langebaan is a popular weekend getaway due to its proximity to Cape Town, which is less than a two-hour drive. Many Capetonians own homes or rent Airbnb. Families are also moving there and now have access to a Curro School.
Places like Malmesbury have benefited from the upgrades to the N7 Cape Town to Namibia Route that runs through the region. Given that it is only about a 40-minute drive from Cape Town, many people choose to settle there and commute daily.
Lightstone data shows that West Coast property markets boomed during the 2021/2 period, resulting in notable growth in median prices over the last five years, doubling in areas such as Yzerfontein and Paternoster. Areas such as Langebaan, Malmesbury, and St Helena enjoyed a notable uptick. According to the data, most towns experienced growth of 60% to as much as 107% and even 196% over the last ten years.
Yzerfontein currently boasts the highest average transaction price of R3.1 million, followed by Langebaan at R2.3 million. According to Seeff’s agents, the West Coast is more popular with buyers and investors than ever before. Jaco and Tracey-lee Coetzee, from Seeff Langebaan, say correctly priced high-end properties still attract buyers. Over the last year, Seeff has sold apartments in Marina Village for R3.55 million and R3.75 million and luxury homes in Calypso Beach for R6.9 million and R8.8 million. These mainly were holiday homes and apartments, including a South African Expat from Canada who purchased a holiday home. The beautiful Club Mykonos remains popular. According to the agents, the highest demand is now in the R1.5 million to R2.9 million range, including new developments.
According to Mariska Le Roux and Mariszka van der Linde from Seeff Langebaan, the rental market is also very active, with plenty of rentals available. The average rental is between R10,000 and R12,500 for small properties and R16,000 to R24,000 for three-bedroomed properties. Estates and high-end suburbs range from R25,000 to R30,000 per month.
According to Michelle Livingstone-Louw and Nelia Retief from Seeff, the Yzerfontein market is quite seasonal and is expected to pick up again. There is no less demand for high-end properties and land in view of the high prices and slower market. Yzerfontein Heights III, though, remains in demand, with plots selling for R1.05 million to R1.3 million and plot and plan packages at R3.585 million and R4.1 million for a luxury, three-bedroom house.
Rentals are always in demand in Yzerfontein, and the supply often exceeds the demand. Prices range from around R12,000 (for apartments) to around R30,000 (for a luxury house) at the top end.
Paternoster is also not priced at the higher end, with a median price of R1.9 million. Saldanha, Vredenburg, and Malmesbury tend to offer more affordable prices and attract younger buyers, including families. Buyers in Yzerfontein, Langebaan, and St Helena Bay are mostly older and comprise a mix of holiday and retirement buyers. Although a low turnover area with only about a dozen sales annually, most recent buyers (77%) in Elands Bay were over fifty.