You can ditch the city for the country life and still be close enough to the Cape metro. Excellent road infrastructure such as the R27 West Coast Road, N7 which now extends to Malmesbury, N1 and N2 highways mean an easy commute to and from the top six commuter towns. From Yzerfontein/Langebaan on the West Coast to Malmesbury in the Swartland, Franschhoek, Tulbagh and Somerset West in the Winelands/Boland to Suurbraak in the Swellendam Overberg region, you are spoilt for choice.
And while offering a laidback, wholesome lifestyle, you are still close to excellent schools and amenities. A fabulous seaside, vineyard or country lifestyle can be enjoyed from as little as one to two hours from the city, says Pierre Germishuys, Licensee for Seeff Winelands, Boland and West Coast.
Technological advancement and flexi-work means you can operate from just about anywhere, making buyers more mobile. Rapid urbanisation and the resulting challenges are likely to drive more buyers to move their families out of the city, or to take advantage of the wholesome lifestyle on offer just outside the city, says Germishuys.
Whether you choose to move permanently, or invest in a second home or weekend getaway, you will find postcard vistas, unspoilt coastal living, vineyards and rolling farmlands. And with prices levelling out, it is a great time to set your investment radar on these towns and villages:
1. Yzerfontein/Langebaan - best for living by the sea
Yzerfontein and Langebaan are close to Blouberg and offer an unspoilt coastal lifestyle with basic necessities and restaurants, but no commercialisation, says Michelle Livingstone-Louw, a Seeff agent.
Prices range from R1.8 million to R6 million, to about R28 million for a super-luxury beach house offering 1 397sqm underroof on a plot of 1 620sqm. The elevated architectural masterpiece offers magnificent sea vistas, grand proportions and features and finishes.
Extras include a separate Asian kitchen and small dining area with a teppan grill, indoor heated pool with humidifiers and bathroom facilities, a grand staircase that leads to an upstairs open studio/pyjama lounge with a coffee station and ceramic cooker, wine cellar, snooker room, double-glazed glass with roller shutters throughout, automation and much more.
Nearby Langebaan offers easy access to Vredenburg and Saldanha. Marelize Huysamen and Lorna Watters from Seeff say the golf estate offers good investment opportunities right now in the R1.5 million to R8 million range. It includes a Gary Player golf course and driving range, gym, swimming pool, bowling greens, restaurants, conference and events centre, hiking and mountain biking trails.
2. Malmesbury - best for super-fast commuting
The administrative centre for the Swartland farming district, Malmesbury now offers super-fast commuting via the N7 to Cape Town in under an hour. The Riebeek Wine and Olive Valley is just down the road and the town boasts excellent schools, a golf club, shopping, nearby services and more.
Nastassja Koch from Seeff says the area is ideal for families, and is attracting buyers from all over, especially Cape Town’s northern suburbs and Gauteng. Affordability is a key feature, particularly older houses with big yards on offer in the R1.4 million to R1.8 million range.
Tafelzicht and Die Wingerd offer modern houses, plus there’s also a choice of historic homes as well as few estates such as Glen Lily South with its Bo Kaap-styled designs and plots from just R255 000.
Older houses can be rented from R8 500 to R10 000 per month and ranging to R13 000 for modern properties. Apartments range from R4 000 to R6 500 for two bedroom units.
3. Franschhoek - best for wine lovers
As if the mountains and prestigious wine farms are not reason enough, Franschhoek offers a trendy cosmopolitan vibe and is ideal for families, says to Tania van Deemter. The area is close to Paarl and Stellenbosch, and an easy hour’s commute to Cape Town.
Franschhoek is one of the most prestigious addresses in the country and offers a mix of Cape Dutch heritage and vernacular architecture with properties ranging from sectional title and freehold homes to exclusive lifestyle and vineyard estates.
Prices range from R1.6 million to R6 million, with luxury and estate homes priced above this to about R20 million and more, depending on the property, for a top estate home with its own private vineyard. Wine and lifestyle farms are a popular option, often as they come with accommodation and tourism potential.
Expect to pay from around R9 million to R42.5 million for a top 11.9ha farm with a four bedroom manor house and a 4-star rated six bedroom guest house located on the Franschhoek River.
4. Tulbagh - best for history aficionados
Within an easy commute of under two hours lies the scenic Tulbagh Wine Valley where you can find excellent value and some of the finest examples of Cape Dutch heritage architecture, says Nelia Retief, Seeff agent for the area.
There are plenty of residential properties priced from just R800 000 to R4.995 million for a rare historic house, on Church Street. It was the final residence of Christo Coetzee, a South African assemblage and Neo-Baroque artist until his death on 12 November 2000. It is a National Monument, dating from 1796, and was restored along with the barn he used as a studio.
It opened as the Christo Coetzee House Museum and Gallery in August 2011. The barn has access from Tulbagh's main road and between the house and barn is a duplex studio apartment and outside kitchen. There is also a private courtyard and single garage. The art is also for sale, but not included in the price.
5. Somerset West - best for family life
Dinis Martins, licensee for Seeff, says you cannot beat the value proposition of Somerset West. It is barely half an hour from the city and offers stunning vistas of the Helderberg mountains and surrounding vineyards. It is home to some of the oldest and most prestigious wine estates, such as Lourensford and Vergelegen located in the heart of the town.
The town offers a cosmopolitan lifestyle with top schools and excellent amenities, including a regional shopping centre and private hospital. While highly sought after by families and retirees, the close proximity to the airport makes it a haven for foreign-owned second homes and golf lovers for the top-class Erinvale Golf Estate.
You can generally find a really nice property in the R2.4 million to R2.8 million range with security and lifestyle, including wine and olive, estates priced above this at around R3.5 million to R9 million, and luxury houses to around R40 million.
6. Suurbraak (Swellendam) - best for off the grid living
If you’re looking for off-the-grid living, then head to Suurbraak, a little historic missionary village dating back to 1812 located after Swellendam just off the N2 on the way to the Garden Route.
It lies in a fold of the Langeberg Mountains just down from the incredible Tradouw Pass and offers incredible vistas, according to Val Anderton and Marinda Roux, from Seeff Swellendam.
Here, people still cook on wood-burning stoves, use donkey-drawn ploughs and horses and carts to get around.
For around R2.65 million, you can find a newly-built eco home which operates off the grid with a high-tech solar system and ample supply of water. It is an ideal weekend cottage and has two bedrooms, stunning living areas with a fireplace and stackaway doors opening to a patio, entertainment lapa and eco swimming pool, storeroom, laundry and double carport. The upstairs main bedroom opens to a deck with an open-air bath, and the 1 672sqm plot is fully fenced.
