Rich people all over South Africa are scaling down.

Apparently, regular mansions require a lot of upkeep and maintenance, and it must be exhausting managing all the staff.

The solution? A ‘micro mansion’ – or as the common folk call it, a house.

Micro mansions will still cost you more money than most people make in a lifetime, but are “smaller and more manageable” while meeting the clients “luxury demands”, reports Business Insider.

So it’s a fancy house. Got it.

Here’s Andrew Golding, chief executive of the Pam Golding Property group with more:

“As spaces shrink, when it comes to high-end homes, there’s no need to forego the latest cutting-edge architecture, leading world-class luxury and stylish, contemporary design. On the contrary, you can still create a showpiece with all the latest luxury features, unique appeal and privacy to boot,” says Golding.

The trend is picking up in areas like the Atlantic Seaboard in Cape Town, which has coveted sea views, but no space for a private golf course.

“In Cape Town, which has the strongest house price inflation in the country, we’re seeing an increasing number of buyers selling their larger homes to buy similarly-priced yet more compact, lock-up-and-go properties on the Atlantic Seaboard or City Bowl area,” said Sandra Gordon, Pam Golding Properties senior research analyst.

Let’s get a look at these houses micro mansions.

Priced at R49 million, this home overlooks Clifton’s 4th Beach:

Special features include a large salt-water aquarium with tropical fish, a private and wind-protected garden with pool, jacuzzi and sauna, 10-seater movie theatre, games room, staff room and double garage.

You could snap up this Fresnaye home for R35 million, with panoramic views over the ocean and Atlantic Seaboard from every room:

Features include a customised, imported integrated kitchen with Smeg appliances, fitted wine room, marble bathrooms with top-of-the-range fixtures and fittings, central air conditioning, home automation, central sound system, elevator, garaging for four cars, staff suite plus separate laundry.

It also has this altar:

Jozi is also taking notice, with residents in Hyde Park keen to downsize their gardens to focus on “glamorous facelifts to their architecture”.

Meanwhile, on average, prices in the Atlantic Seaboard declined by 5.1% year on year in the first quarter –  the worst performance since 2009.

So snapping up a micro mansion might be easy, but selling that original mansion just got a lot harder for anyone living in the Cape Town area.

[source:businessinsider]