SA's most expensive streets
Category Financial Mail - Cover Story
THE BEST money-spinners in the Financial Mail's 2013 top suburbs survey include few of the super-wealthy suburbs. That's probably because more affordable suburbs with average prices below R5m may have had higher demand, and therefore higher price growth, than their upper-end counterparts in recent years.
First prize for SA's wealthy are still Cape Town's swish Atlantic Seaboard suburbs of Clifton, Bantry Bay, Bakoven, Llandudno and southern suburbs counterparts Bishopscourt and Constantia, as well as Sandhurst, Bryanston, Hyde Park and Atholl in Johannesburg.
According to Lightstone, these traditional upper-end hot spots boast SA's most expensive streets (see table). The Atlantic Seaboard is home to six of SA's 12 most desirable streets to live in: Nettleton and Clifton roads in Clifton, Ocean View Drive and St Leon Avenue in Bantry Bay, Theresa Avenue in Bakoven and Fishermans Bend in Llandudno. Exeter Avenue in Bishopscourt is also home to one of Cape Town's swankiest stretches of real estate.
Millionaires row in Johannesburg includes Culross Road and Eccleston Crescent in Bryanston, 4th Road in Hyde Park, Coronation Road in Sandhurst and Deodar Road in Atholl.
Ennik Estates CE Ronald Ennik, the Christie's International affiliate in Gauteng, says while Sandhurst and Hyde Park tend to fetch the highest prices on average in Johannesburg on the back of "massive prestige value" and easy access to the Sandton and Rosebank CBDs, Gauteng's well-heeled are also prepared to fork out serious money for properties that offer expansive views in Bryanston, Houghton, Westcliff, Parktown and Linksfield.
Ennik says these are on Mount Street in Bryanston, St Patrick Road in Upper Houghton, Woolston Road in Westcliff and The Valley Road and Rockridge Road in Parktown.
The latter two are famous for their Herbert Baker-designed Randlord mansions and though these homes seldom come on the market, Ennik says values can range from R15m-R50m.
According to UK-based research group WealthInsight, Sandhurst is home to SA's highest number of dollar millionaires - 38. That's followed by Bryanston (34), Hyde Park (30) and Houghton (18).
Cape Town's posh suburbs trail those in Johannesburg with Camps Bay topping the ranks with 14 dollar millionaire residents, followed by Clifton (11), Bishopscourt (10) and Constantia (10).
WealthInsight figures refer to individuals with net assets of at least US$30m (R300m), excluding primary residences.
Cape Town's low number of dollar millionaires relative to Johannesburg's could be because these figures include permanent residents only. WealthInsight's Andrew Amoils says in Clifton, for example, most properties are second or third homes.
Source: FM
Author: Joan Muller
