What defines a suburb as an affluent area? Is it the number of really wealthy individuals who live there? The number of high-end homes it contains? Or the rate at which its home values appreciate?
For some it may be the size of the gardens, or the fact that the trees are tall enough to form a tunnel over the quiet streets. For others it’s about spectacular views, extreme privacy, top-notch security or just the heady aroma of champagne and old money.
Well, whatever your personal vision of such an area, or whatever your preferred combination of affluence factors, there’s no doubt that SA has an upmarket estate or a heritage suburb to match, says David Jacobs, the Rawson Property Group’s Northern Region and KZN Regional Manager.
And a great many of them are located in and around Johannesburg, which is now not only the financial heart of SA but, according to the latest international Wealth Report from Knight Frank, the 28th most important city in the world to the UHNWIs – or ultra-high net worth individuals – who are the most common current cipher for affluence.
UHNWIs are defined as individuals whose net assets are worth US$30 million (approx R356 million) or more and, according to a report released late last year by the Sandton-based wealth consultancy New World Wealth, there are about 600 such individuals currently resident in SA.
Of these multimillionaires, almost half (48%) live in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, or more specifically, in the heritage suburbs of Sandhurst (38), Bryanston (34), Hyde Park (30), Houghton (18), Westcliff, Parktown and Atholl/ Inanda.
Jacobs says that it is thus not really surprising that these suburbs are also reckoned to have Johannesburg’s highest percentage of “trophy” homes – or properties that have been sold for R20 million or more in recent times. According to New World Wealth, Sandhurst had 127 such homes at the end of 2013, Hyde Park 112, Bryanston 88 and Houghton 57 – and these numbers are very likely higher by now as there has been strong demand in SA’s luxury home sector over the past year that has boosted prices in the most sought after areas by between 10 and 15%.
However, he notes, it is important to remember that R20 million plus is not the average price of homes in these suburbs, even if they are arguably the most sought-after areas in Gauteng. According to property data company Lightstone, the average price of the nine-pre-owned properties that have been transferred during the past three months in Sandhurst, for example, is R6,9 million , and that of the three new properties that have been transferred is R7,9 million. Only two of these properties sold for more than R20 million.
In Hyde Park, the average price of the nine pre-owned properties transferred in the past three months is R4,2 million, and that of the five new properties transferred in this period is R7,4 million. And again, only two of those properties were sold for more than R20 million.
“Then in Bryanston, which is a much larger area than either Sandhurst or Hyde Park, there is a huge variety of homes on offer, with the result that prices actually only average about R1,4m for sectional title units currently, and about R5 million for freehold properties.”
Indeed, says Jacobs, there are many areas in Gauteng where one can readily buy much more expensive properties than those generally available in the suburbs apparently most favoured by UHNWIs, and all of these would also be regarded by the majority of South Africans as “affluent” or even “very affluent”.
“In Johannesburg these would include Parkview, Dunkeld and Saxonwold, for example, and of course the Dainfern and Eagle Canyon estates, as well as the small estates hidden away in parts of Lonehill.
“To the east of the city, Bedfordview in the Ekurhuleni metro comes to mind for its range of luxury home offerings, while to the north, in the Tshwane metro, there is Waterkloof (which admittedly does have its fair share of UHNWIs and R20 million plus homes), and estates such as Cornwall Hill, Mooikloof, Silver Lakes, Woodhill and Blair Atholl, which was in fact officially named in the last census as SA’s most affluent area, with the highest number of millionaire residents.”
And it is worth noting, he says, that while these areas all have very different special features that appeal to prospective home buyers, such as a tranquil environment, a great golf course, a panoramic view or a high-tech security system, all of them also share certain characteristics.
“These include easy access to superior schools, a strong sense of community and a history of steadily rising home values in all economic conditions, and I think it is the combination of these factors that really sets an affluent area apart from others.”
For further information visit www.rawson.co.za.
