Estates are not only the fastest growing property type in terms of new developments, but they have also achieved some of the best capital appreciation rates over the past five years with prices of estate homes having grown on average faster compared to other property types according to the Seeff Group.

Lightstone data shows that around 16% of all property transactions in 2024 were concluded in estates with the average price for an estate home increasing by 28% to R2.3 million in just five years. Comparatively, the national average price only increased for homes (not in estates) by 8% during the same period. While only 2% of all transactions nationally were over R3 million, this increased to 8.5% for estate homes.

The Seeff Group says that at least 20 estates achieved some of the best capital growth upwards of 22% to 37% over five years, attributing the surge in demand for estates to the enhanced security and lifestyle, especially in areas with service delivery challenges. Sales data for 2024 shows that the highest number of estate transactions short of 14 000 were concluded in Gauteng. The Western Cape’s estate transactions were slightly lower at 12 265 but the province achieved the highest overall value of R34.4 billion. KwaZulu-Natal achieved the highest average price of R3 million.

Overall, the best growth was achieved in estates in the Cape Town metro area, largely in keeping with the general price growth patterns observed over the last decade. These include estates in Blouberg and Somerset West. Gauteng estates with the best growth are in Pretoria East and Centurion as well as the Bedfordview and Edenvale areas while KwaZulu-Natal estates with the best growth are in Umhlanga and Hillcrest.

Gauteng estates with the best growth are in Pretoria East and Centurion as well as the Bedfordview and Edenvale areas while KwaZulu-Natal estates with the best growth are in Umhlanga and Hillcrest.

According to Seeff Centurion, an influx of buyers from Gauteng and international buyers from the UK and Northern Europe also boosted demand for estates on KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast with sales mostly in the R13 million to R15 million price range. High-end estate home are now listing for up to R40 million in this region.