The regeneration of Durbanville has been spurred on by CBD improvements

The regeneration of Durbanville has been spurred on by CBD improvements

When Garth and Terence Hewitt gave up their positions in the corporate world and opted to start new careers as estate agents with Alexander Swart Property's Durbanville team they were, they say, partly motivated by the belief that Durbanville was about to undergo a sustained regeneration\upliftment period.

Discussing this this week with Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart Property, the Hewitt brothers said that the most impressive changes of all at Durbanville are now taking place not in the residential sector, which has always been known for its affluent homes, but in the business and retail areas.

"Durbanville has always been known for its quality homes, some now valued at as much as R16 million or more, but its business-retail CBD had a rather old, quaint village ambience, charming-- but not at all sophisticated and with no focal point. People on 'serious' shopping outings tended to travel out of Durbanville e.g. to Willowbridge and Tyger Valley. Now this is all changing rapidly. The new Village Square Shopping Centre and ongoing upgrades to Queen Road and to many of the Wellington Road properties have given us an enlarged, more modern central business node. In this we have the largest Woolworths food store in the Western Cape, a smart upgraded Shoprite Checkers complex and a new Storage RSA building. In addition, at Koeberg Road we now have one of the most aesthetically appealing of all the Cape's retirement centres. And, we now know that we will in the coming 18 to 24 months see substantial new development taking place, especially in those areas close to the new university-which, more than any other factor, will result in further upliftment of the whole town.

"In the educational field, complementing our excellent state schools, both primary and secondary, Durbanville now has a Reddam House private School at Clara Anna Fontein and a Dot's Learning Centre at Uitzicht.

Alexander commented that the changing nature of Durbanville and its ability to attract a wide variety of buyers in all age groups are revealed by the latest Lightstone figures. These show that the average combined incomes of Durbanville households are now between R70 000 and R90 000-which places it in the highest of all SA residential categories, on a par with Somerset West, Cape St Francis and Knysna. Equally significant, said Alexander, is the statistic that 32% of all homeowners in Durbanville have lived there for five or less years i.e. one in three residents is a new arrival in the town. What is more the largest group of new buyers (42% of the total) is in the youth\adult group i.e. 18 to 35 years old.

"Looking at the current trends, it is clear that Durbanville is now more popular than ever before and it is fairly safe to predict that the 24 802 residential properties in Durbanville will increase to 30 000 within five to ten years," he said. "This has become a high growth precinct and one in which the quality of almost all new buildings, whether residential or commercial, is immediately obvious to the visitor."

Right now, say the Hewitts, home prices at Durbanville are still 'affordable' - by any recognized standards - and, although it is seen by the public as an affluent suburb, not suited to those on 'average' salaries, by no means all the residents are in the income bracket quoted above. The vast majority of home sales are still in the R2 million to R4 million bracket, while in the sectional title market it is still possible to buy a well appointed two bedroom apartment for R1,2 million.

The Hewitt brothers have on average sold one house per month since they arrived at Alexander Swart Property, an exceptional achievement for a team in its first year of operation in an affluent area, says Rowan Alexander.

Garth and Terence Hewitt added that a greatly improved political outlook is imparting new confidence to formerly hesitant home buyers-and Alexander has corroborated this in another statement.

For further information contact Rowan Alexander on cell phone number 082 581 3116 or by email rowan@asproperty.co.za