The New York Times, hey?

There’s something to talk about at the clubhouse, other than what’s happening with Markus Jooste’s plot.

Val de Vie, for those who don’t know, is a “lifestyle estate” within the Paarl-Franschhoek Valley, “where historic farms and the natural splendour of the Cape Floral Kingdom beckon visitors from across the globe”.

That’s according to the estate’s website, but I’m more interested in what the New York Times had to say.

Plenty to enjoy, including the photos by Joao Silva:

[Val de Vie is] one of South Africa’s most prestigious golf estates, stretching over 2,500 rolling acres with a Jack Nicklaus signature course, two full-size polo fields, three gyms and a winery.

Grapevines flank the boulevards. Zebra and antelope nibble grass on a small reserve…

Estate developments — often built in combination with upscale golf courses — are hugely popular among wealthier homeowners in South Africa, consistently outperforming the general market, largely because they offer a combination of amenities and, as at Val de Vie, state-of-the-art security…

Many of the communities combine armed guards, cameras and electric fences with recreational facilities like golf courses and gyms.

Following that, there’s a look at our staggering crime stats and a little chat with Ryk Neethling, swimmer extraordinaire and also estate marketing director, which is where we’ll rejoin:

Properties at Val de Vie range from individualized seven-acre small holdings (“Gentleman’s Estates”) to one-bedroom apartments designed by one of South Africa’s most prominent architects, Stefan Antoni. Most properties are family homes with gray roofs and large windows, conforming to a building code that is “flexible but ensures some consistency,” Mr. Neethling said…

About 15 percent are foreigners, mostly from Europe, Mr. Neethling said, adding that between 10 percent and 15 percent are nonwhite…

A new fitness center on the estate, the Yard, has an Olympic-size swimming pool and a gym run by John McGrath, a seven-foot Irishman who used to perform in strongman competitions at Coney Island in New York.

“What’s special about this place is the community,” said Mr. McGrath, who stays in shape by bending metal wrenches into hoops.

If you happened to buy back in the day, when the estate was in its early years, you’re sitting pretty at the moment, with property prices on the increase:

Even with South Africa’s weak economy having strained property prices over the past decade, residential estates continued to perform well, said Andrew Amoils from New World Wealth.

There was “massive growth” in the sector from 2000 to 2008, but it slowed after the global financial crisis, Mr. Amoils explained. Even so, he said, “it still consistently outperforms the general market.”

A quick look on Property24 shows that the cheapest plots listed on the site start from R1,7 million, and the cheapest house (two-bedroom) goes for R3,85 million.

On the Val de Vie site itself, houses for resale fetch far more than that.

Sounds like pretty decent living, right?

You can read the full New York Times article here.

[source:nytimes]