South Africa's favourable exchange rate, natural beauty and good weather make it desirable for foreign property buyers looking to live, holiday or retire in luxury.
Even though their euros, pounds or Swedish krona could buy them beautiful properties in their home countries, the opulence South Africa’s luxury properties offer, in addition to the climate and scenery in our high-end suburbs, makes buying here an easy choice.
Contrary to public perception, though, says Nick Gaertner, director and chief operating officer at Knight Frank, 90% of buyers of luxury homes in Cape Town, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch are locals.
The main demographic of buyers are people in their 40s and 50s with children at school and university. Samuel Seeff, chairperson of the Seeff Property Group, agrees: “Although there has been a massive uptick in sales to foreign buyers over the past year, about 80% of luxury homes have been bought by South African buyers. “On the Atlantic Seaboard in Cape Town, sales above R20 million were made predominantly to local buyers, but also to wealthy buyers from Johannesburg, KZN and other inland areas.”
Whether local or foreign, luxury-home buyers want prime locations and views, and are prepared to pay a premium for them, says Ross Levin, licensee for Seeff Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl.
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“This trend is echoed in the high demand for estate homes and relatively high prices paid, not just in Cape Town, but also the estates on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, such as Zimbali.”
He says some of the latest trends in luxury home design include integration with nature and features that maximise a property’s location. Home automation, green home features including water storage, grey-water systems and solar heating are among the standout features included in many of these homes.
“Private lifts for multi-storey homes, generous use of glass to ensure maximum views and spectacular indoor/outdoor flow to maximise South Africa’s lifestyle are also luxury features, as are wine cellars, gyms, yoga studios, multi-car garages and even car-wash bays.”
Rory O’Hagan, chief executive of Chas Everitt International’s Luxury Property division, says luxury buyers are looking for what is referred to as “whole life” homes, where everything they need – from wellness and sports facilities to various types of entertainment spaces for different members of the family and full-on business facilities – is literally on the same property. Lifestyle is the major driver of these luxury property purchases, he says.
“Homes incorporating gyms, yoga studios, 10-pin bowling alleys, home cinemas, luxury car display facilities, hair salons and work-from-home facilities, including boardrooms and executive office space, are trending.
“Additional demands include more extensive on-site staff accommodation, smart technologies and water, power and internet back-up systems.”
Some of the outstanding features seen in luxury properties recently, or currently, on the market include private nightclubs, home health spas, and multiple vehicle garages which double up as large entertainment spaces, complete with catering kitchens.
O’Hagan adds that affluent individuals are searching for different lifestyles post-Covid, and want to be able to live an “abundant and full” life, even if lockdown had to occur again.
In addition, Gaertner says, luxury buyers consider the lifestyle offered by the neighbourhood and surrounding areas, security, privacy from neighbours, and proximity to schools.
The emphasis is on properties that offer a combination of outdoor and work-from-home spaces. “The pandemic has shifted people’s mindsets slightly to be more conscious of what luxury homes offer in terms of being able to live freely in the home, without feeling cramped for space, and also being able to have a separate office that does not take away from the feeling of ‘home’.”
South Africa’s high-end properties offer such features in abundance and at a price that foreign buyers love. Although the equivalent value in their currencies could still get them beautiful homes in their own countries, the style and quality of design of South Africa’s luxury properties, combined with breath-taking views, prime locations and standout features, put our luxury properties slightly higher on the opulence list.