South Africa’s top five luxury suburbs — all located in Cape Town — boast an average house price of R20m upwards.
This is according to the Seeff Property Group, which revealed in its top 10 ranking of luxury property sales that only Sandhurst in Johannesburg features on the list, ranked seventh (from fourth last year), with an unchanged average price of R16.5m over two years.
The top 10 list features six Atlantic seaboard suburbs: Clifton, Camps Bay, Bantry Bay, Llandudno, Fresnaye and the Waterfront.
It also includes Higgovale in the City Bowl, and Constantia Upper and Bishopscourt in the southern suburbs.
Seeff chairperson Samuel Seeff said 146 properties have sold for over R20m, generating more than R5bn in value for this year so far — exceeding the total for the entire 2024-year in volume and value.
Fifteen of these sold for over R50m with four priced at more than R100m — in Clifton and Constantia.
“Where the wealthy are buying and investing is a clear signal of confidence, and indicates where the market strength lies. Cape Town stands in direct contrast to the country’s economic and wealth heartland, the Gauteng metros, Johannesburg/Sandton in particular,” said Seeff.
He said prices in Johannesburg and Sandton in particular, have largely stagnated with only a few sales over R20m, and high-end suburbs such as Dunkeld, Westcliff, Hyde Park, Illovo, Inanda and Bryanston now averaging about R5m-R10m.
In contrast, Cape Town’s wealthy suburbs have surged further in value.
Ross Levin, licensee for Seeff Atlantic seaboard, said the high demand and prices paid for properties on the Atlantic seaboard are driven by the unique combination of demand and scarcity.
The location between the mountain and sea creates a lifestyle offering that is simply unmatched, and since there is limited supply of land and property, it inevitably pushes up values
— Ross Levin, licensee for Seeff Atlantic seaboard
“The location between the mountain and sea creates a lifestyle offering that is simply unmatched, and since there is limited supply of land and property, it inevitably pushes up values,” said Levin.
He said adjacent suburbs have also seen notable price hikes such as:
- Sea Point (R6m);
- Green Point (R7.8m); and
- Three Anchor Bay (R6.2m).
In the City Bowl, these include:
- Oranjezicht (R10.4m);
- Tamboerskloof (R8.75m);
- Devil’s Peak Estate (R7m);
- Gardens (R6.35m); and
- Vredehoek (R5.6m).
Francois Venter, agent for Seeff Constantia, said prices are up by 16% in Constantia Upper, and 10% in Bishopscourt, “well above inflation, representing real growth for property owners”.
Seeff said the industry expects a “bumper summer season with international buyers set to return to the market and enquiries already coming through to agents”.
Pam Golding Properties said over the past decade Western Cape house price inflation has outperformed relative to the other major regions and is now stabilising at higher levels.
The luxury sector of the market has shown remarkable strength and is benefiting from increasingly positive sentiment, resulting in a shortage of stock in prime locations which is placing pressure on pricing.
In 2024 high-end residential properties sold by Pam Golding Properties included transactions from R20m to close to R100m and beyond. These include:
- homes sold for R66m and R60m in Clifton and Camps Bay respectively;
- sales for R45.5m and R54m in Constantia; and
- other high-end sales in Bishopscourt.
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