The time to invest along the West Coast has arrived as the boom created by a combination of demand and the flexibility to work-from-home as opened options to seek a more relaxed lifestyle out of the city buzz.  West Coast Villages such as Grotto Bay Private Nature Reserve, Yzerfontein, Langebaan, Paternoster, Saldanha, Vredenburg, St Helena Bay, Elands Bay and Lamberts Bay are all reporting an increase in demand and sales. 

Grotto Bay has become the top contestant from the above-mentioned areas according to the latest Light Stone report, with a 63% increase in the average property price over the past three years, further to this, the report reflects that median prices have almost tripled over the past decade. 

We found a recent trending report by Property 24 interesting as it shows younger people (ages 36-49) moving away from cities and favouring the West Coast as a place to call home.  This demographic of buyer is looking for a calmer lifestyle where secure living and nature is an added benefit to the new normal of working from home.  It seems that hybrid office spaces or remote work will be the way of the future for this age group and therefore a new target market for these outlying West Coast areas has been created.  

“With many people now able to work from home, Grotto Bay’s fibre internet access, along with its beaches, nature walks and high security, is making it a very popular choice for discerning buyers” says Cathy Raubenheimer of Complete Coast Properties.  The more senior folk (65 years+) are the largest group, to be selling their West Coast properties, as they

move to Retirement-type accommodation. “Buyers are looking to be close enough to shops, yet live far enough away from city hubs in their pursuit of a better work-life balance. We specialise in selling properties along the West Coast belt and have found that Grotto Bay, being a Private Nature Reserve, only 20 minutes from Melkbosstrand, is showing a strong increase in property sales” says Hayley Bird, owner of Complete Coast Properties. “With the perimeter and access controlled security of the Estate, parents are comfortable enough to allow their kids to play freely outdoors in the 680 hectare nature reserve.” Cathy adds that “houses are being sold faster than we can get stock to sell. There are only a few plots left with some sea facing and some along the greenbelt.”

References articles include: 

Property24: https://www.property24.com/property-trends/western-cape/9 

Businesstech: https://businesstech.co.za/news/property/517792/these-coastal-villages-in-the-western-cape-have-become-hot-property-again/