Younger, well-heeled buyers opt for luxurious Bishopscourt enclave

DISCREETLY opulent, with most erven some 4 000m2 in extent, the sought-after residential enclave of Bishopscourt, with only 300 homes, is considered by many to be the best address in South Africa.

Luxurious homes in these tranquil, tree-lined streets fetch prices beyond the budget of all but the well-heeled, with the most common price range of homes in demand in the region of R20 million, and where most acquisitions are paid for in cash, according to Pam Golding Proper t i e s a g e nts Myr na Duveen and Christiaan Steytler.

PGP’s own sales data confirm this – the agent partnership sold luxury homes for R69m towards the end of last year, and more recently a modern, open-plan home was sold for R42m, and a property with a large home office fetched R28m.

Duveen and Steytler say that prices for homes generally range from R10m for smaller, usually unrenovated homes on smaller plots, R15m to R18m for average homes on 4 000m and up to R25m and R69m and beyond for luxury homes with top-quality finishes, all bedrooms en suite, guest cottage and top security. Right now, PGP has stock available for sale priced from R10.9m to an eyewatering R90m.

“Luxury homes have loads of extras such as tennis and squash courts, indoor and outdoor pools, garaging for four or more cars and so on,” says Steytler.

According to statistics provided by Propstats, during 2013 the average selling price was R10.462m, which increased to R17.904m in 2014.

Duveen says: “Despite the hefty price tags, most of our recent buyers are younger families, drawn by the access of the suburb to good schools and proximity to Cape Town and its international airport.

“Bishopscourt is well positioned to accommodate those needs and more, such as privacy, as properties usually cannot be subdivided to less than an acre – apart from some halfacre properties on the periphery of the suburb.

“There’s also a great sense of community and security in the neighbourhood, with its well-maintained gardens and homes, breath- taking mountain views, and proximity to Kirstenbosch. Perhaps best of all, there’s no southeaster.”

She says out-of-town buyers are mainly from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal and made up 29 percent of all buyers in 2014, with the balance of buyers mainly from the Western Cape.

“Apart from established wealth, there’s a lot of ‘ new’ money here, particularly from upcountry. At present there is a shortage of stock, no doubt due to the activity last year coupled with the ongoing demand for homes, particularly as resi-

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