THE INDUSTRY
PAGE 15
vision has to be adapted and the already fiercely
homes’, with the remaining 95% being ‘holiday
competitive industry makes it extremely difficult
homes.’
to retain distinctive appeal. Confusion is often
created where an estate is labelled an ‘aero’
estate just because it has a light aircraft runway,
a wildlife estate just because it has a few small
bucks roaming on its lawns or a retirement estate
purely because the developers want to attract the
increasingly popular over 55 demographic. Just
like the terms ‘communities’ and ‘lifestyle estates’
have often become misinterpreted, so have words
like ‘eco’ and ‘nature’ when describing an estate.
To
prevent
this
confusion,
it
is
extremely
important to clearly identify the type of lifestyles
that an individual community brings. In most
Our industry is niched in that it offers a diverse
range of estate living options suitable to every
lifestyle choice. Living in an estate allows people
to truly be able to live their dreams – from golfers,
animal lovers and retired couples to young
parents simply wanting to be able to let their
children grow up in a safe, secure and carefree
environment, where they can walk to school and
be exposed to an enriched standard of living.
The desires and possibilities are certainly plentiful
and is what makes this industry so diversely
dynamic and a constantly developing one.
cases, estate community living encompasses:
A secure and safe lifestyle:
This should include, amongst other things, an
excellent security system, guarded entrance and
exit points and camera surveillance.
A pet-friendly lifestyle:
Owners may freely keep pets at their home and
are permitted to use the estate’s facilities with
their pets.
A quiet lifestyle:
overview of property stock:
Lightstone’s
spatial
research
team
captured
boundaries of over 6000 closed communities
and estates.
-This includes many forms of closed communities
An age restricted or predominately adult only
i.e. golf estates, equestrian and polo estates,
ownership.
coastal estates, lifestyle estates, country Estates,
wildlife estates.
A sporting lifestyle:
-We
Where a number of different sporting facilities are
properties in these communities to a total value
available for residents.
of R 643 billion.
estimate
around
318
000
residential
-That’s an average value of R 2 million - almost
A ‘lock up and go’ lifestyle:
3 times the national average of R700 000 per
A sectional title scheme where the estate
home.
management provides garden and pool
-As expected it mainly falls in the luxury market
maintenance services, for example.
where the average property price in the immediate
Holiday lifestyle:
area is greater than R 1.5 million.
These estates attract a large proportion of
foreigners or swallows and generally have a
full-time occupancy rate of 5% being ‘primary
-Over 50% in Gauteng with a further 25% in the
Western Cape.