Claremont, a rapidly developing and growing suburb of Cape Town, South Africa – once just a small grouping of Dutch colonialist farms focused heavily on agriculture – is now experiencing its second building boom in residential and commercial property, in only 20 years. “The area is slowly becoming, if it isn’t already, a booming retail and commercial business hub,” says Leon Breytenbach, National Manager of the Rawson Property Group’s commercial division.
The widely-renowned area is surrounded by other prominent suburbs like Newlands to the west, Kenilworth to the east, Wynberg to the south and Rondebosch to the North. It lies some 13km from Cape Town’s CBD and the city’s train station, and the local harbour is only about 1km further towards to the South Atlantic Ocean. The popular and well-travelled M4 highway dissects the area – which leads directly to the CBD if you travel north, and along the Cape’s coastline towards the peninsula if you travel further south though suburbs like Diep River and Bergvliet. “The Claremont train station and its bus station is located right next to Cavendish Square – one of Cape Town’s top shopping malls – and sees a heavy amount of traffic on any given day. With the addition of a taxi rank in the area, the suburb is always bustling as these three public transports converge in the heart of the region,” he says.
According to the SAPOA 2016 year-end report, office grades P, A, B, C vacancies have been fairly uniform when compared to other suburbs, in at 8.5%, 3.1%, 7.6%, 12.7% for P, A, B, C respectively – some of these figures the lowest in Cape Town. “However, the average gross cost of office rental space per m2 is very similar, and in some cases more expensive, to that of some other more developed hubs like the city’s business district, Canal Walk, and the Waterfront. The prices in Claremont are R250 per m2 for P grade offices, R160 for A grade, R130 for B grade, R75 for C grade,” says Breytenbach.
Major banks like Absa and Standard Bank, successful South African businesses like Ster-Kinekor and Food Lover’s Market, and huge multi-nationals like Burger King and Auric Auto (a BMW dealer) are located within the Cavendish mall and in the surrounding area. Other malls located in the area include the Kenilworth Centre and Stadium-on-main – both of which offer passers-by unique experiences and varied goods. “Over the period of April 2016 to March 2017, there has been 223 repeat sales of developed freehold and sectional scheme properties in Claremont. The median price for each in 2017 was R1,255,000 for sectional scheme properties R3,525,000 for freehold,” says Breytenbach. Additionally, within that same time period, 75% of property buyers were middle aged (36-49) and young adults (18-35). “This not surprising, he says, as Claremont’s residential area and the surrounding residences in Newlands and Bishopscourt (one of Cape Town’s most affluent and expensive suburbs) lend themselves to an ‘up-and-coming’ wealthier class of buyer with expendable income”
Some attractive amenities in the area include the likes of top South African schools Western Province Prep and Herschel Girls’, a huge amount of healthcare facilities and a high-quality hospital, plenty of petrol stations, and quick access to the University of Cape Town’s southern entrance.” In terms of the recreational, the area does not disappoint On foot you can travel between the stunning Arderne Gardens – which boasts the biggest collection of exotic trees in South Africa – the Starlings Urban Farmers Market, Action Sports, and a little further out (perhaps easier to reach by car) is Rhodes Memorial a monument to Cecil John Rhodes, which overlooks the beautiful city in its entirety,” says Breytenbach. One would also do well not to forget the plethora of restaurants in the area, some of which like Hudsons and Tiger’s Milk – which are held in high regard by the Capetonian community.
