KNOW YOUR ’HOOD
Each week we explore a South African suburb: today it’s Llandudno, the Cape coastal community that is both beautiful and exclusive, as well as being a surfer’s paradise and the pinnacle of pricey property in Africa
NITTY-GRITTY
• Consistently voted the most expensive suburb in Africa, Llandudno is where some of Cape Town’s really wealthy choose to live (along with a few clever people who bought here in the ’70s). It’s where some of the globally rich choose to have a holiday pad and it’s even the hidey-hole of choice for the odd villain or fugitive minister from a banana republic.
• It’s easy to see what the appeal is — a beautiful beach, phenomenal views of the surrounding mountains and out over the Atlantic Ocean, privacy, security and proximity to Cape Town.
• Area expert Lesley-Jane van Loggerenberg of Lola Kramer Realty says: “The oversized luxury properties in Llandudno are elevated and stacked up the cliffside, giving owners breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean, Klein Leeukoppie and Judas Peak. Llandudno is sheltered from most winds except the northerly. The suburb has the most wonderful sunsets all year round and the beach is ultra-secluded and sun-kissed all day long. Llandudno is not that big, so you are walking distance away from the beach no matter where you live in the suburb.”
• On average, this is a largeproperty area with no sectional titles (apartments or town houses), only full-title residential properties. But not everybody who lives here owns here. Van Loggerenberg says the rental market is very active for both long-term and short-term rentals.
• She adds: “The demographic is a combination of the wealthy elite living in newly built or renovated modern mansions, ‘oldies’ who bought their plots in the ’80s and ’90s for around R250 000, and built homes that are now tired but provide for entry-level prices into Llandudno starting from about R6.8-million. It’s probably one the safest suburbs in South Africa, because there is a single vehicular entrance to the entire suburb with a 24-hour guard.”
PRICE POINTS
“House sizes range from 250m2 to 1 300m2 and prices vary between R6.8-million and R45-million,” Van Loggerenberg says.
“There are about 350 properties in Llandudno, of which 44 are for sale. The highest asking price is R45-million in Fisherman’s Bend and the lowest, for R6.8-million, is in Llandudno Road. Asking prices average out at R15 937 045.”
IN THE MARKET
Van Loggerenberg says: “Family homes under R10-million are actually in short supply and those that are well priced sell quickly. At the upper end of the market the sales are much slower, because the higher the price the fewer buyers there are out there — and in some cases owners overprice their homes.
“The percentage difference between listing price and selling price in Llandudno, according to Lola Kramer’s records from 2010, is 21.1%.”
Prospective buyers in Llandudno should be aware of the new zoning regulations for the area: new height restrictions and footprints are in place, which will affect the design of new homes as well as the renovation of and additions to existing homes.