Security is the number-one priority for expats enquiring about where to live while working in SA – and word of mouth has made the Dainfern Golf Estate and Fourways Gardens their top Johannesburg choices for many years
But lately, the suburb of Lonehill just to the north of Fourways has been getting a spate of recommendations – and for good reason, says local Rawson Properties franchisee Steve Goosen. “Thanks to the joint efforts of the Lonehill Residents’ Association (LRA) and Fidelity Security, Lonehill is renowned as one of the safest suburbs in South Africa, and residents here feel free to walk their dogs, go for a run, take their children to the park and sit outdoors having coffee with friends.
“It also has a large number of sectional title and cluster home complexes with their own tight security measures, and many of the freehold homes are located in boomed-off streets.”
At the same time, he says, expats like the fact that the suburb has a strong community spirit, fostered by the popular annual events that the LRA organises, including the Mother’s Day picnic, Movies in the Park, Spring Day celebration and Carols by Candlelight evening, as well as the winter soup drive and Christmas hamper fund organised for the guards that patrol its streets, and the weekly Domestic Forum meetings.
“Other popular community events and attractions include the Park Run on Saturdays, the Fourways Farmers Market on Sundays, the nature reserve surrounding the central rocky koppie after which Lonehill is named and several parks/ greenbelts areas and dams.”
Goosen says the neat and well-managed appearance of the suburb is another major draw card, and is thanks to the fact that the LRA not only oversees security but also works hard to maintain and clean all the streets and verges, parks and other public areas, generally without any funding or help from the City Council, but with the help of all the residents who contribute to its envirofund.
“In addition, the growing community of expats living in Lonehill love the fact that it is very self-contained, with its own shopping centres, the Crawford private schools, excellent restaurants, Virgin Active gym and even an office park, so that the need to run the gauntlet of the heavy traffic on the main routes in and out of the suburb is minimised.”
On the other hand, he notes, the suburb is extremely well located in relation to the commercial nodes of Fourways, Bryanston, Sandton and Randburg, the Fourways super-regional shopping complex and the upmarket Montecasino hotel and entertainment complex, while nearby sports venues include the German Country Club, the Bryanston Country Club and the Dainfern Golf Club.
“For families with school-going children, there is also a choice of excellent public and private schools close to Lonehill, including the Bryanston and Bryandale primary schools, Bryanston and Fourways high schools, St Peter’s, St Stithian’s and Brescia House.”
And then to crown it all, Goosen notes, the suburb offers really good value for money on a wide variety of homes ranging from apartments and townhouses to clusters, freehold family houses and luxury estate homes, especially when prices are compared to similar properties in adjacent suburbs such as Sandton, Bryanston, Fourways and Dainfern.
“There is also always strong demand for sectional title rental properties in Lonehill, and this makes it a popular choice for SA investors who are currently working abroad themselves but intend to return in a year or two. They know they will get good rental returns while they are away and have a safe place to live when they come back.”
Current pricing in the suburb starts at around R600 000 for studio apartments and R800 000 for two-bedroom units in a secure complex. Prices for three-bedroom townhouses and clusters start at around R1,7 million and those for freehold family homes at around R2 million. Luxury four and five-bedroom homes in gated estates or boomed-off roads can cost as much as R6,5 million.
Deeds Office figures show that the current average apartment price in Lonehill is R900 000, compared to R870 000 in 2016, while the current average house price is R2,475 million, compared to R2,4 million last year. People between the ages of 35 and 50 make up the biggest cohort of homeowners in the suburb (42%) and the biggest cohort of recent buyers (39%).
