Estate Living Increasing in Popularity in South Africa

Estate Living On Rise in SA

A transcript published on the Business Day website outlines a discussion by the Property Experts on South Africa’s Home Channel on DSTV. The debate centred around estate living, why it has become so popular in South Africa over recent years and what this is doing to housing in general. Bruce Whitfield hosted guests including Jeanine Fincher from Chas Everitt International Property Group and Leza Kotze from Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs.

Jaenine Fincher believes that the situation is a response to the escalating crime in South Africa and that there probably aren’t enough estates at the moment. Estates tend to be found quite some distance outside of the cities (Bruce Whitfield). Fincher suggests that what may happen in future is more people in the suburbs will start blocking property and selling it off to create more estate living in the suburbs.

When asked about the trend of people moving out of the suburbs, from places where they feel vulnerable, to places where a higher level of security is perceived, Leza Kotze agreed that crime has had an immense impact on property development in terms of this trend. Various suburbs have compensated for this by putting up boom gates and forming a community watch organization, but there remains a big difference between what this can provide in contrast to true estate living. Estates not only provide a high level of security, but some kind of entertainment as well, whether it be a golf course, stables or even private school. There is a whole lifestyle that comes into estate living, which is essentially what gives it such an appeal.

When it comes to the unbelievable expense that goes along with buying into an estate, Fincher believes that while the demand is there and people are paying, there is just not enough in the right price range. She insists that more estates need to be built, but a lot cheaper and not necessarily so big. It’s unnecessary to purchase immense stretches of land; one can go smaller and still manage to have the community surrounded by walls for security purposes. Levies in estates are also high, considering that there is so much more to maintain, from the grounds, to the roads, the infrastructure and so on.

Whitfield also highlights the trend towards densification that seems to be following suit, with townhouse complexes and units getting smaller and being built closer together. Kotze says that this places a huge strain on municipal resources to provide basic services, which is one of the biggest challenges that needs to be addressed when it comes to densification in Johannesburg and Cape Town in particular. All this is doing though is bringing South African cities in line with all the major cities around the world, where property is expensive and a scarce and limited resource.

The information in this article is courtesy of Business Day (“Ask the Property Experts”, 24 June 2008).

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