Our West Coast is rather like that old song Love Me or Leave Me; its harsh coastline, stark countryside and wild winds lack the contrasting softness and greenery of, for example, the East Coast and its Garden Route. The West also has magnificent beaches but its seas, fed by the cold Benguela current, can make sopranos of the toughest front row forwards.

It holds appeal for many South Africans — and their numbers are growing. Tiny fishing hamlets are fast becoming villages; villages are growing into towns. Beach cottages are being revamped and developments spreading, often changing the very character of their setting and of the traditional and historic communities. Families that, for generations, have fished to survive now help run trendy beach bistros and fashionable guest houses. Others have found work and financial success in the busy building sector. And where you find holidaymakers these days, residential golf developments are sure to follow… and have.

Geographically, what we know as the West Coast begins somewhere near Yzerfontein in the south (about 80km from Cape Town) to Strandfontein (40km north of Lambert’s Bay). Further south to the outskirts of Cape Town is generally identified as the Western Seaboard – Bloubergstrand, Melkbosstrand, Atlantic Beach, areas also experiencing astonishing development but with an urban twist.

Residential properties have burgeoned all the way up the coast, as have prices. Pam Golding Properties’ Western Seaboard office has a magnificent three-bedroom beachfront home on the market for R16.5-million. Also on the market is a magnificent penthouse that occupies the two top floors of the landmark Horizon Bay building, making it the highest point in the Blouberg area, with an asking price of R19.9-million. Too rich for your pocket?

What about a beachfront apartment at Perla do Mar for R7.9-million?

Prices become more reasonable in the north

As you move north, prices can become more reasonable. I say 'can', because as popular coastal areas develop so the costs of land and building rise. And buyers are not just erecting beach cottages but very large homes — often with the aim of retiring there. Take booming Britannia Bay, for example. In this popular resort in the greater St Helena Bay area PGP’s June Perret has one beachfront home for sale at R6-million. The few remaining beachfront stands will set you back around R2.5-million.

Down the coast a way, what was the quaint fishing village of Paternoster is now an absolute must port of call for West Coast visitors. There, homes and plots with frontage are even more expensive (if you can find one). PGP agent Simon Heeson-Green has one relatively small beach plot for R4.5-million!

The urbanisation of the coast really begins at Saldanha Bay, the western hub of our iron ore export trade. This magnificent, sheltered bay and its adjacent Langebaan lagoon is a fast developing industrial centre. It was into Saldanha that the famous Confederate raider, the CCS Alabama, sailed to provision after taking 55 prizes during the American civil war. And archaeological digs have discovered very early human habitation, including the Saldanha Skull found in 1953 and estimated to be 400 000 years old.

Sheltered Langebaan is a favourite holiday spot and abuts the popular West Coast National Park, noted for its wild flower spectacle in spring. Holiday home development has been nothing short of spectacular — to the extent that waterfront plots are as rare as strandlopers. PGP area chief Stephanie Wynne Cole has a couple for sale at over R2-million each – “and they’re tiny,” she says. However, as with the market generally, activity has slowed.

Nevertheless, prices are still reasonable. For example, PGP is marketing Sunset Heights, a new security development with views of the bay. Two-bedroom apartments range from R590 000 to R787 000. Three-bedroom penthouses are available from R1.4 million. Transfer is scheduled in mid-2009 and building work is in progress.

The ratio of permanent residents to weekenders and holidaymakers has grown

In common with much of the West Coast, however, the ratio of permanent residents to weekenders and holidaymakers has grown, resulting in much improved infrastructure and facilities, such as private schools, clinics and, of course, the ubiquitous shopping malls. Parents are prepared to dig into their pockets to help provide top class schooling for their children in order to reap the benefits of a healthy country lifestyle. Further north prices begin to climb. Trendy Paternoster, said to be named after the Portuguese sailors who rested and traded there after Vasco da Gama discovered St Helena Bay on November 7, 1497, has virtually run out of available beachfront land for sale or fishermen’s cottages to renovate. Prices are even (slightly) more expensive than neighbouring Britannia Bay. Heeson-Green can offer a 450m² plot on the Voorstrand for R4.5-million.

Travel from Paternoster to Britannia Bay or St Helena Bay is either back through Vredenburg, the commercial centre of the area, or by a fairly rough dirt road that cuts across the coastal farmland. Britannia Bay is spectacular, as is neighbouring gated golf estate Shelley Point. Resident agent Perret calls the bay: “My piece of heaven.”

Other than what is known as Old Britannia Bay, prime beachfront land is called 'the golden mile', where a reasonable average price for a substantial home can be around R6-million. The few remaining plots Perret had for sale went for between R2-million and R2.5-million.

“It’s a spectacular setting,” she says. “The bay faces north and the prevailing winds come from behind.”

Published courtesy of IP Magazine

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