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You know what they say – Weskus Beskus.

The Cape Town holiday home creep up the West Coast started quite some time ago, and has really sped up over the past three years.

That’s according to Pierre Germishuys, manager director for Seeff West Coast, and he reckons COVID-19 has had a large part to play in driving the market.

Friends of mine stayed in Paternoster during the so-called ‘beach ban’, and I’ve heard that rule may not have been as strictly enforced as it was on Camps Bay Beach.

BusinessTech reports that towns like Yzerfrontein, Langebaan, Paternoster (so hot right now), St Helena Bay, Elands Bay, and Lamberts Bay have all seen increased property activity:

…the market has been driven strongly by the low interest rate, the Work From Home (WFH) trend, which has emerged with the pandemic, has been an added boost for many areas the property expert said.

Buy-to-let investors are also still drawn to the area. Some villages report strong local holiday bookings with people streaming to areas such as Langebaan and Paternoster over weekends to get away from spending so much time in their homes in the city.

It’s about 160 kilometres from the Cape Town CBD to Paternoster, so if you leave work at 2PM on a Friday (like any self-respecting Capetonian), you can be unpacked and a few toots in by sunset.

Lightstone data shows that Langebaan has recorded the highest sales volume, with 658 transfers at a value of more than R1 billion recorded in the 12 months prior to July 31.

The median property price in Paternoster over the past decade has seen a 150% increase.

Paternoster also has Wolfgat restaurant, named ‘Restaurant of the Year’ at the inaugural World Restaurant Awards 2019, as an added bonus.

Villages such as Langebaan and Paternoster report a steady rise in permanent residents driven by older buyers retiring and young professionals and even families relocating here given access to goods, schools and a wholesome environment to raise children…

Marina Enslin, an achiever agent from Seeff Paternoster, said houses and vacant plots are selling across all price bands, including more expensive sea-facing properties. She recently sold two houses above R8 million and a vacant plot for R5 million, the highest price achieved for a plot in the village.

Right, off to Property24 we go.

The budding property developer might look at this 40-hectare site for R135 million and see an opportunity, but let’s downscale.

Enslin says the highest price a plot in Paternoster has been sold for is R5 million. Prime beachfront plots don’t come cheap, and we found this on the market for R5,35 million.

The listing says it’s one of the last vacant stands on the “spectacular beachfront” with “breathtaking views” and “direct, immediate beach access”.

Just a light stroll and there you go.

Enslin says that while the appeal for Capetonians is obvious, buyers are also coming from the likes of Gauteng, North West, and Limpopo.

Yzerfontein, Langebaan, and Paternoster are the most expensive West Coast towns to buy in, with the average selling price ranging between R2,1 million and R2,4 million.

Clearly, if you want to be on the water’s edge, you’re forking out a lot more.

[sources:bustech&property24]