PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Plettenberg Bay and Knysna has once again been crowned as some of the most exclusive areas for the wealthy.
According to the 2018 South Africa Wealth Report – compiled by New World Wealth and covering wealth, luxury, prime property, collectable and wealth management trends in South Africa from 2007 to 2017 – the two coastal holiday towns have been faring well in attracting wealthy citizens to their shores.
One of the ways the compiling team used to determine the exclusivity of an area was to consider the property prices per square metre.
Beachyhead Drive tops
In this department, Plettenberg Bay’s Beachyhead Drive took the top spot of most expensive road beyond those in Cape Town. Owning a property on this street, which overlooks the Robberg peninsula and several beaches, will cost you R43 000/sq m.
New World Health head researcher Andrew Amoils says, internationally, per square metre statistics were deemed the best way of determining exclusivity in an area. “However, this measure has some limitations, especially when it comes to valuating houses.
This is due to the garden element. How do you value a garden? The truth is, price per square metre statistics only work really well on apartments and some areas don’t have many apartments, which makes this tricky,” Amoils says.
Plettenberg Bay and Knysna have topped the list as some of the most exclusive areas in South Africa, especially Plett's Beachyhead Drive where it costs R43 000/sq m of property. Photo: Ewald Stander
R20m homes another marker
He adds that another option is to look at the number of R20-million homes in an area. “However, this measure can be deceiving as areas where there are mainly large houses such as Sandhurst, Plettenberg Bay and Bishopscourt, tend to outperform areas with mainly apartments, such as Umhlanga, as very few apartments are large enough to cost more than R20-million.”
He says it is for these reasons that both options were considered when the report was compiled.
Amoils says there were, as of December last year, about 2 400 South African homes valued at R20-million or more. About 950 of them are in Cape Town, while 580 are located in Johannesburg.
Knysna in third place
Plett tops the list outside these two centres, with 130 properties and Knysna took third place with 100 homes.
“Knysna is one of the top retirement destinations for wealthy South Africans. It is also home to several notable luxury residential estates including Pezula, Simola and Thesen Islands.”
Plett tops the list outside these two centres, with 130 properties and Knysna took third place with 100 homes.
The report mentioned Keurbooms, as the small village offered more privacy compared to the nearby town centre.
Nature's Valley on the outskirts of Plett was also highlighted. “The forest and lagoon in the area are relatively untouched, which appeals to nature lovers. Notably, no motor boats are allowed on the lagoon and it is therefore a hot spot for canoeing.”
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