The treasure of historic homes and buildings in Simon’s Town is a big draw-card for property buyers. Andrea Booth and Lola Casey, Seeff’s agents say that anything from beautiful old Victorian cottages and houses to a grand mansion in the main road, is always in demand not just as residences, but also for business purposes.
The only challenge is that these are seldom on the market and are usually snapped up quite quickly.
Simon’s Town is of course dominated by naval activity and occupies a particularly scenic position with ocean and fynbos mountain views as far as the eye can see. Its location on the False Bay coast en-route to Cape Point also makes it a popular holiday spot, attracting day, weekend and holiday visitors almost year-round.
Home to just over 8,000 residents who enjoy a lifestyle just about as laid-back as you could ask for, the town is not short of facilities and boasts excellent infrastructure. As it is a tourist town, there are plenty of street cafés and restaurants here and further towards Kalk Bay and Muizenberg.
“If you are not employed by the navy, you are still close enough to Cape Town for work purposes”, say the agents. “There is also a bustling commercial centre and you can always indulge in the tourism or hospitality industry, especially if you are able to get your hands on a lovely historic property”.
The town has a very interesting heritage, predominantly tied to the naval development with appealing attractions such as ‘Just Nuisance’, the world famous dog who was awarded the title of Able Seaman in the Royal Navy, celebrated with a life-sized bronze statue in Jubilee Square.
There is also the historical mile that runs along St George’s Street with about 21 historic landmark buildings.
Home to just over 8000 residents, Simon’s Town is now it is today a bustling little town with strong demand for property, not just from local residential buyers, but is now attracting interest from across the globe. With that, property values have risen exponentially, say the agents.
“While about half of all properties have been owned for 11 years and more, we are seeing quite a bit of movement in the market with especially younger buyers moving in. It remains a popular retirement spot though, especially for buyers looking for a coastal destination close to a metropolitan area”.
Unlike many other areas, data from Lightstone points to a quite brisk market in 2015 with some 212 property transactions worth just under R440 million, about 16% higher than the previous year in unit terms and 33% more in value.
“The market ended the year with an average freehold house price of R2.3 million, almost 30% more than the 2014 year. This is very indicative of the demand for property in the village”, says Booth and Casey.
Property in the village comprises of mostly freehold houses, priced upwards of around R1.5 million to as much as R15 million for a top end historic home, located on the historic mile in St George’s Street.
The property is one of the most sought-after landmarks of Simon’s Town and is known as ABC House. It originally housed the Attwell Baking Company. It dates to around 1897, although the original smaller building was constructed in 1888.
It enjoys spectacular sea and mountain views and is set over three floors with a lift.
While maintaining most of the original features including the wooden sash windows and doors, it has been beautifully restored and renovated with stunning interiors. This includes wooden floors, trendy raw-brick feature walls, an interesting glass inset on the upper floor and trendy bathrooms.
Features include a modern designer kitchen and adjacent open-plan dining room with space for a twelve-seater dining table. In addition to spacious living areas, there are five king-sized bedrooms, four bathrooms, a security room, yoga studio, gymnasium with a steam shower, staff accommodation, an income producing flat and a seven-car garage.
There is also a sheltered decked terrace with braai facilities and a swimming pool and of course stunning views.
The history of the building is tied to the naval origins of the village as it originally served as the Naval Club and from 1897 to 1929 was occupied by the Attwell Baking Co. which provided bread to the Navy.
Today, the street front is occupied by businesses including Seeff’s offices while the upper levels serve as a stunning residential home as described above.
While it is a stunning home, the property offers excellent development potential and can easily serve as an exclusive boutique hotel or hospitality establishment. Simon’s Town is of course a very popular tourist town.
