South Africa: Types of Property

Overview

There’s a wide variety of residential property available in South Africa, including apartments, townhouses, detached houses, ‘cluster housing’ (freehold houses in a complex, sometimes with shared facilities, e.g. gardens and swimming pool), sectional title units (see Community Properties Fact Sheet), retirement properties, farmhouses, villas, mansions and castles.

Apartments

Apartments are ubiquitous in South Africa’s towns, cities and coastal resorts. As well as continuing to build new apartments, developers are increasingly converting non-residential buildings, e.g. factories or warehouses, into luxury apartments – especially in inner cities. Apartments in older buildings tend to have higher ceilings than those in modern apartment blocks and either have smaller rooms or, in the case of converted factory or warehouse apartments, are open-plan.

Apartments are generally good value and, if they’re in a popular tourist location, offer year-round rental potential. Advantages of apartment living include low maintenance (once you’ve carried out any necessary work), security (especially if the block has 24-hour security or a concierge) and the use of communal gardens and pool (and possibly other facilities such as tennis courts). Apartments in towns have the added advantage of local facilities and amenities within walking distance.

Disadvantages can include noisy neighbours, poorly-maintained buildings and grounds, crowded complexes during holidays and little storage space (although many new apartments have fitted wardrobes). Owners of properties in most apartment blocks in South Africa are members of a community of owners and must abide by the community’s rules, and pay community (see Community Properties Fact Sheet).

Houses

South Africa has a range of semi-detached houses and detached houses with small gardens or patios, which usually form part of a purpose-built residential area. Construction is generally of excellent quality – marble floors and top-of-the-range kitchens are the norm. Resort developments, some of which are extremely upmarket, often have communal gardens with a swimming pool and sports facilities such as tennis courts. There may also be 24-hour security on the complex.

The advantages of a modern home on a residential complex include little upkeep (and no restoration work!), spacious living, use of communal gardens and pool without maintenance costs or work, and community living with fewer neighbours than in an apartment.

Among the disadvantages are high community fees and a lack of historic architecture. As in the case of apartments, owners of properties in some residential complex in South Africa are members of a community of owners and must abide by the community’s rules, and pay community fees (see Community Properties Fact Sheet).

Country Properties

Some foreign buyers in South Africa avoid the coastal resorts of the Western Cape, the Garden Route and Kwazulu-Natal and opt for a country property, of which there are many in South Africa’s vast hinterland. They range from humble cottages huts to vast estates, particularly in those areas where there’s high rural unemployment and the population is migrating from the country to the cities. Almost all country properties come with large plots and many include fruit trees, vineyards, other crops or pasture. Renovation is sometimes necessary, unless you pay a premium for a property that has already been modernised.

Advantages of country properties include lower prices (in most areas), peace and quiet, lower local taxes (usually) and the opportunity to live in the ‘real’ South Africa. On the other hand, rural properties sometimes involve extensive maintenance as well as restoration work, utilities may be poor or non-existent, amenities and facilities are often some distance away and you don’t have the advantage of a ready-made community.

The good news is that South African small town and village communities are generally friendly, although sometimes after an initial period of ‘sussing you out’. In some rural areas, e.g. the Winelands, there are established expatriate communities, particularly English or German-speaking, for those who are reluctant to sever all ties with ‘home’.

Architectural Styles

South Africa has a wide range of architectural styles, which is a reflection of the many and various cultural influences that have shaped the country: indigenous, British, Dutch, French, German, Malay and others. There are mud buildings with roofs made from a variety of materials (e.g. sticks, thatch and corrugated iron), wattle-and-daub huts, thatched houses with whitewashed walls and gables, Victorian and Edwardian mansions, Mediterranean villas and modern high-rises, the functional but attractive’ Cape Malay’ styles found in parts of Cape Town, Art Deco elegance in Durban, and ornate ‘Cape Dutch’ houses (see below).

Cape Dutch

South Africa’s emblematic architectural style, much loved by tourist brochure photographers, is Cape Dutch. The style is an amalgamation of influences: Dutch, German, Huguenot and Indonesian. The earliest Cape Dutch houses are single-storied and utilitarian, usually three rooms in a row, with steeply pitched roofs supported by rafters and walls made of clay or thick rubble; later buildings are made of burnt brick, with sea shells used as the basis of the lime mortar and reeds for the thatched roofs.

With increasing prosperity (from the beginning of the 18th century), houses began to grow in size and reflect the individual needs and taste of each owner. Front gables began to be added, largely made by craftsmen brought over from the Far East, and a variety of styles began to develop. By the mid-18th century, owners began to add wings onto either end of the basic structures, leading to the so-called U-plan. Floors were made of compacted earth or Robben Island slate, and shutters were added to windows. Other styles of building plan also evolved, including the T-plan and H-plan.

Later still, outbuildings began to be added, including a house (jonkershuis) for the eldest son, stables, coach houses, slaves’ quarters and wine cellars. The very best Cape Dutch buildings are found in parts of the Cape Peninsula and the nearby Winelands.

© Survival Books Limited 2005

“Buying a Home in South Africa” 1st Edition, Graeme Chesters.

Reproduced with the permission of Survival Books Limited.

Further information on this topic can be found in “Buying a Home in South Africa” 1st edition, by Graeme Chesters.

For extensive information about buying a property in South Africa, you can purchase this book at www.survivalbooks.net