Clifton properties fly off the shelf

The laws of supply and demand will always be in favour of Clifton, Cape Town's hottest neighbourhood property. The equation is simple: Here's a residential pocket of perfection whose scarcity can barely satisfy local and international investor demand for "a piece of paradise". Over and above particularly brisk Atlantic seaboard sales, DG Properties reports having sold over a quarter of a billion rand's worth of property in Clifton alone over the past six months. For those unfamiliar with the location, picture an Atlantic seaboard neighbourhood with only several hundred privileged inhabitants, enjoying tumbling views over sandy white beaches, gloriously wind-protected by Lion's Head... and postcard sunsets across an azure ocean. It's therefore not surprising that only ten kilometres from the city centre, Clifton homes and apartments command prices averaging around R12 million, according to property consulting firm Lightstone's annual index of prices - making this exclusive neighbourhood the most expensive in Southern Africa. The original bungalows perched above the beach were built from vehicle export packing cases during the twenties and thirties, and land allotments were made to returning servicemen at the end of the war. Today, the bungalows below Victoria Road have been completely upgraded yet still retain a Cape Cod wooden-clad simplicity. They are valued in terms of their scarcity and unique position. DG Properties continues to sell them like proverbial "hotcakes", with the latest with direct access to 2nd Beach, for R26 million. Above 1st and 2nd Beaches, French Riviera-styled residential blocks and gleaming modern apartments, with world-class finishes, stand proudly upon granite boulders. Property below meandering Victoria road is so scarce that garages can command prices of up to two million rands. DG has just sold a penthouse with its own rim-flow pool, overlooking Moses beach, for R33 million. Captains of industry own the palatial homes carved into the mountainside above Victoria and Kloof roads. The most valuable street in South Africa in real estate terms, is Clifton's uppermost Nettleton road, where the Dogon team located buyers for a new R60 million Hollywood Hills-styled architectural masterpiece, as well as selling a couple of seventies-styled homes in the mid-thirty to forty million rand bracket. DG Properties, says, "We've noted a new trend in which investors purchase older houses for the spectacular position alone and are quite happy to demolish in order to erect a customised new home". These prime properties have the added panorama of the Twelve Apostles mountain range. TripAdvisor, the respected and largest tourist dotcom website for discerning travellers, has just awarded Cape Town the status of "Best City Destination in the World", as voted by its international followers. This is bound to further fan the flames of property demand on the Atlantic Seaboard, and the jewel in its crown - Cape Town's perpetually alluring Clifton.