Paying 'bargain basement' for the Clifton high life

MILLIONAIRE property developer Stuart Chait is selling his three-storey Clifton mansion in Cape Town for a "bargain" R49-million after acquiring a more "child-friendly" house following the birth of his child.

And Chait is so keen to sell the mansion in one of the country's most fashionable streets, Nettleton Road, that he has slashed the price by R10-million.

Until recently Chait owned a stake in Melrose Arch, one of Johannesburg's biggest mixed-use developments. His office declined to disclose his new address or his reasons for selling .

However, estate agent Anette Hepburn, who has been commissioned to sell the property, which has sweeping views of the Indian Ocean and its own lift, said Chait had bought another property after the recent birth of his baby.

"He is not a desperate seller," she said. But Seeff Properties, which has also been given a mandate to market the property, says on its website the price has been "drastically reduced to sell".

Chait declined to comment, saying the sale was a private matter.

The house, which features two lounges, a bar and a heated swimming pool, was originally on the market for R59-million. The price was reduced to R55-million and it is now R49-million.

Chait's spokesman, Greg Kukard, said: "Stuart has left it in their [the estate agents'] hands."

He declined to disclose where Chait was moving to. Speculation is that it could be in the same road, where Chait is putting the final touches to the R350-million Nettleton Ridge development, described as South Africa's priciest gated community.

Chait's company spent about R15-million building a short road into the estate, which also boasts a house worth R120-million.

The estate has views over Clifton's four beaches, Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles mountain range and features high-security homes ranging in size from 620m² to 650m².

In 2005, in an interview with Business Day's property supplement, Home Front, Chait said there was a demand for such a gated enclave.

His target market includes politicians, heads of state, international sportsmen, Hollywood stars and business tycoons with a net worth exceeding R500-million.

"The purpose of aiming towards celebrities, sports stars, industrialists and the like is because there is a massive demand for security and privacy on the Atlantic seaboard. No other development can supply this," he said.

Chait co-founded South Africa's first empowerment developer, MvelaProp, with then-businessman Tokyo Sexwale, who is now the human settlements minister.

He honed his business skills by supplying flowers to retailers at the age of 18 and had his own property development company by the time he turned 21.

Through Chait's consortium, Property Partners, he bought Melrose Arch in 2005 for R1.2-billion and, by the time he sold his stake, it was valued at about R4.5-billion.