Pringle Bay, the small coastal village on the Whale Route, south of Gordon’s Bay and 95 km from Cape Town which has just 1,300 homes, has, says Axel Maier, the Rawson Property Group’s residential agent for Pringle Bay and Rooi Els, quietly and without too many people being aware of it, become one of the Cape’s most prestigious ‘in’ coastal areas, but, he says, prices are still ‘very reasonable’ here.
Maier has in fact sold 12 properties in the first six months of 2014, most of them being priced below R1,5 million. For approximately that amount, a buyer can purchase a three bedroom home in good condition with 160 m² of floor area and good finishes on a 1,000 m2 plot here. Many properties have sea views and almost all properties have good mountain views, and the entire area is fynbos covered.
The area, added Maier, has its fair share of more expensive properties: he has, this year, sold a double storey beachfront home for R7,5 million. This was the highest price ever achieved at Pringle Bay.
House prices start at R750,000, and those looking to build for themselves, said Maier, can buy serviced plots with between 600 and 1,800 m2 of land in a price range of R275,000 to 1,5 million.
Asked to explain why Pringle Bay has taken off in an unprecedented fashion, Maier listed almost a dozen points in its favour. The most important of these were:
- It is one of the safest places in the Western Cape, with almost zero crime. Only one road gives access to the village and this is monitored by CCTV. There is also no industry in the area.
- With its silver beaches, lagoon and encircling mountains, Pringle Bay’s scenery is ‘second to none’.
- Many local residents find that they can run their businesses from home and/or that they are conveniently close to the airport and the major Greater Cape Town work nodes.
- There is a very pleasant cross section of residents in Pringle Bay and an excellent community spirit and social life.
- The village has no less than nine restaurants and coffee shops, many with top rated chefs, and are able to lay on live weekend entertainment, which is regularly provided, throughout the year.
- The opening up of a private school a few years ago has made it possible for young families to live here.
- The village was the first in South Africa to be awarded Fire Wise status and has a highly effective baboon monitoring team.
