Escape to a Hermanus holiday home from R1.2m

The exponential growth experienced by Hermanus in the past two years has stabilised, allowingestate agents to briefly catch their breath before the start of the holiday season.

This three bedroom house in Hemel en Aarde, Hermanus, has underfloor heating, a fireplace, study, bar, veranda, built-in braai and lap pool. It is selling for R11.35 million - click here to view.

This is according to Dean Meijer, owner of theChas Everitt Whale Coast franchise, who says while Hermanus remains one of the Cape’s favourite vacation destinations, the town has also welcomed many new permanent residents in recent times.

“In particular, we have noticed an influx of ‘semigrants’ from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal who have decided to make Hermanus their home,” he says.

“Buyers are eager to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and come to this area for the village atmosphere. In fact, Hermanus is not a small town anymore, but it still has a strong community spirit.”

Meijer says Hermanus is also the commercial hub of the Whale Coast, offering much in the way of employment in the tourism and hospitality sectors. He says property buyers in this area are encouraged by the fact that the Overstrand Municipality was ranked as the best performer in an independent study of SA’s 278 municipalities and awarded a clean audit for the 2013/14 fiscal year.

He says about half of the recent buyers in the town are between the ages of 50 and 64 and planning their retirement, while most of the rest are younger working couples with growing families.

With three bedrooms, an open-plan living area, fireplace and patio with built-in braai, this home in Onrus, Hermanus, is on the market for R2.285 million - click here to view.

“However, the popularity of Hermanus has put upward pressure on prices, which have risen by up to 15% over the past two years. The average price for homes in the upmarket suburbs of Eastcliff,Fernkloof, Hermanus Heights, Kwaaiwater andNorth Cliff is R3 million.”

However, Meijer says there is a waiting list for homes in the luxury lifestyle estates of Hemel en Aarde and Fernkloof Golf Estate, where many homes have broken through the R10 million price threshold. He says Hermanus will probably never see new developments of this calibre again, owing to the scarcity of land.

“After nine years developers are, however, starting to cater to demand in the medium price range once more and are building several new gated estates. Homes are also available in the outlying areas of Onrus, Vermont and Sandbaai at prices from around R1.2 million.”

And for those who wish to retreat to the serenity of the surrounding holiday towns, holiday homes are available at an average price of around R1.4 million in Kleinmond, Betty’s Bay andPringle Bay, he says.