What’s family-friendly, 15 kilometres from the Mother City and derives its name from one of the most magnificent views in the world? You guessed it! Table View.
Describing the popular Cape Town suburb is far easier than fathoming its boundaries. There are many differing opinions about where its exact borders lie. Monica Clark of Leapfrog has been selling property in Table View for the past 30 years and is one of the best-known estate agents in the area. She says property in Table View covers everything from Rietvlei [Wetland Reserve]up to Raats Drive; from Gie Road to the R27; and includes Bloubergrand, which is the area between the R27 [Otto du Plessis Drive] and the sea. Having sold property from Big Bay to Flamingo Vlei – and everything in between (including White Waters, Blouberg, Blourberg Rise, Bloubergrand, Blouberg Sands, West Beach, Sunset Beach, Parklands and Sunningdale) – Monica knows her stuff. She says Table View is a cosmopolitan suburb that caters for everyone. “We have enormous diversity here. Table View attracts a lot of young families as well as older folk.” This is evident in the stock that she carries: “I have everything from a studio apartment to a house with 11 bedrooms – properties from R400 000 to R47 million.” The 11-room house is, of course, the exception.
Although Table View has its share of mansions, most of the property in Table View is middle-of-the-road. “We have a lot of sectional title developments. Simplexes and duplexes are very popular here, and preferable to flats, where the living is high-density.” Rampant development, as seen in Table View and surrounding areas in recent years, is killing the area, says Monica. “Developers are buying up old houses and building sectional title schemes. The past few years, greed has taken over and now you find blocks of flats 11 storeys high – we have one that’s 22 storeys high! I’m terribly opposed to this sort of development, especially on the beach front, usually right in front of beautiful homes for which people paid good money – partly because of the position.” Affordability and value for money are synonymous with property in Table View. “We’re affordable when compared with the Southern suburbs. If you had R1.8m to spend it would buy you a very pleasant home here, whereas it wouldn’t get you as much in Newlands or Rondebosch, for example.” ![Property in Table View is a worthwhile investment]
First-time home owner Angela Straub bought in Table View in 2003. She paid R170 000 for her 56sqm two-bedroom unit in a security complex in Gie Road. “It’s great for beginner buyers, a couple or single parents with one or two children. The complex has two swimming pools and is walking distance to Boy de Goede circle, which is close to shops, the post office and so on. The complex has one-, two- and three-bedroom houses in cluster form. Each unit has a small garden and parking bays.” Angela says units like hers are now selling for between R380 000 and R540 000. But while her property is now worth more than double what she paid for it, it’s not far from the Caltex Oil Refinery and the Killarney race track, which are sources of air and noise pollution.
On the up side, the closeness to the beach and good shopping amenities are for her draw cards and she has no plans to leave the area. Murray and Odete Jackson bought their home on the ocean side of Table View in 1999. They were attracted to living outside of the city and within walking distance to the beach. Affordability was also a factor. The Jacksons paid R330 000 for their three-bedroom, two-bathroom home, which is on plot of 1000sqm and has a swimming pool. Odete says the house could now fetch R1.7m. Of the changes that have taken place over the past 10 years, Odete says the proliferation of apartment blocks in neighbouring Parklands has not only added to traffic, but also introduced overcrowding and some squatting. “I don’t mind development but I’d prefer houses to apartment blocks.
Table View is known for its fynbos and sand dunes, which are also a tourist attraction, so I hope these can be preserved.” Apart from the lifestyle, another attraction in this neck of the woods is the good selection of public and private schools and recreational amenities. The new Netcare hospital on Otto du Plessis Drive is also a welcome addition. On the traffic front, residents say they’re hopeful that the much-needed Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) system is going to take the snarl out of their daily commute, which can take up more than an hour if you don’t (or can’t) avoid peak hours. Like Monica and Odete say, Table View pretty much has it all. So, what’s an average home in Table View going to cost you? “Your average three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with good finishes, plus garden and swimming pool, will cost you between R1.3m and R1.5m. And your average two-bedroom sectional title property will cost you about R850 000. The more upmarket three-bed units sell for R1.2/R1.3m,” says Monica. Though the market in Table View is robust, Monica says properties take about three months to sell if they’re priced right. According to Deeds Office date, supplied by Lightstone property analysts, over the past 12 months 390 properties in Table View sold. Over the past 12 months, the average selling price of a freehold property in Table View was R1.1m and the average selling price of a sectional title property was R860k. According to Lightstone, 52% of market stock in Table View is sectional title property and 47% is freehold. Is property in Table View a good investment? “Absolutely,” says Monica. She is heavily invested in the area in more ways than one, and has done exceptionally well. Like any good investor, she has bought wisely and been in the market for many years. One of her properties is worth R8 million. She paid R175 000 for it 30 years ago. “That’s the exception; the area was rezoned a business zone. I have another property that I bought in the late 80s for R347 000, which is now worth about R2m.” The rental market in Table View is also very strong, says Monica: “We think rentals are high for the area. For a good two-bedroom apartment, you’ll pay between R4500 and R7000. A good three-bedroom house goes for up to R10 000. I’m getting R25/R30k a month for my five-bedroom, five bathroom house.” It seems that no matter how you view it, Table View is a good place to invest.
