Nkandla is now just the second most expensive

President Jacob Zuma can breathe a sigh of relief: his Nkandla residence, worth R246m, is no longer the most expensive home in SA.

Last week, it emerged that a German businessman (who wasn’t named) had paid R290m for a property in Bantry Bay on Cape Town’s Atlantic seaboard. He bought it from Shane Thomson, a man described in the Sunday Times as a “clothing tycoon”, who is apparently now living in New York.

This sets a new bar for the most expensive residence yet sold in SA, and even though the amount converts to a relatively manageable amount in euros, it is nonetheless a thumping sign of confidence in the country.

The German owners had been looking at buying on the Spanish island of Ibiza or Saint-Tropez‚ but the Cape Town property apparently offered better value.

The house on the slopes of Lion’s Head is impressive — besides its seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms and eight garages, it boasts a copper roof and chic contemporary interiors. The 5,200 m² property has views of Table Mountain, the city bowl and the Atlantic seaboard. It has also scooped numerous accolades, including Lafarge Artevia decorative concrete awards.

The seller, it seems, even “threw in” a Porsche and an Aston Martin, along with two adjacent plots to ensure the new owners retained their privacy.

It’s the kind of deal likely to galvanise those in the ANC who, a few years back, called for an inquiry into the rocketing price of property in SA based on the outrageous prices being fetched on the Atlantic seaboard. But, given the rand’s 22% drop against the dollar over the past year, it’s unlikely to be the last fancy house sold to a foreigner.

Sadly, it has to be pointed out, however, that the Bantry Bay house appears to have only a conventional eternity swimming pool rather than the soupedup firepool capable of dousing the blazes that rage through KwaZulu Natal (and Table Mountain) on occasion.