More people are buying these trophy homes in Cape Town – with prices up to R32 million

Property buyers in Cape Town are increasingly opting for smaller, exclusive and unique developments, says Alexa Horne, managing director of Dogon Group Properties.

Horne said that this trend has been noted by developers with a number of new boutique luxury property developments now currently in the works. “The demand for these homes has increased as people are becoming more and more focused on exclusivity, as well as interior design and architecture,” she said.

Boutique developments typically offer only a few homes for sale in upmarket exclusive areas where space is a premium. Developers are also increasingly concentrating on creating original and bespoke buildings that give buyers the opportunity to feel ‘special’ whilst owning a rare piece of real estate.

“A high price tag alone does not put a property in the luxury category,” said Horne. “It has to be unique and exclusive, in a trophy address, and Cape Town’s boutique developments are meeting these requirements.

“We anticipate seeing an ongoing demand for boutique developments from both local and international buyers and as such an ongoing response from developers who enlist the services of top architects and designers to produce premier exclusive properties that are more akin to built art than mere buildings.”

This was echoed by Paul Upton, head of developments for Dogon Group, who noted that boutique developments typically focus on attention to detail, with developers building properties in limited numbers which are located in desirable areas.

“These homes are considered to have far more prestige, and have better resale values than bigger development schemes,” he said.

Where people are buying 

Data from Dogon shows cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard and Southern Suburbs have seen an increasing number of boutique developments being launched and snapped up by receptive buyers.

“The Southern Suburbs of Cape Town is proving to be one of the most popular areas in Cape Town, enjoying booming property sales over recent months as buyers take advantage of value for money properties, access to good schooling, an abundance of lifestyle options, and decentralised office nodes – all making it a highly sought-after address,” said Upton.

“Claremont, Kenilworth, Rondebosch, Constantia, Newlands and Bishopscourt are great suburbs to live in – offering beautiful, safe surroundings and well-built homes. The Southern Suburbs has an abundance of restaurants, coffee shops, upmarket deli’s, art galleries and boutique shops.”

He added that areas in the Atlantic Seaboard, such as Oranjezicht, Sea Point, Fresnaye, Bantry Bay, Green Point and Camps Bay remain a firm favourite amongst buyers.

What you will be paying

Upton pointed to the currently ’19 On Torquay’, a new development in Claremont Upper that has only four freestanding homes available, which are priced from R12 million.

He noted that these homes are large, with two of the units featuring four bedrooms and five bathrooms – the biggest is over 746 square metres – and the other two units feature three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The homes range in size from 463 to 570 square metres.

In Camps Bay, the Medburn Villas, also offers only ultra-luxury homes priced from R19 million up to R32 million.

Conceptualized by award-winning Architects Gerd Weideman and Jenny Mills, these homes can only be described as ultra-luxe, with each unit configured over three levels with private elevator access, Upton said.

“The development also has sustainable features such as water-saving fittings, filtered borehole water supply, eco-conscious heat pump geysers, low-energy LED lighting, and inverter/photo-voltaic backup electrical supply. Safety features include biometric recognition access, monitoring and access controllable remotely from anywhere in the world.”

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