NEWS FROM ANNE PORTER KNIGHT FRANK

DIRE NEED FOR SECURITY ESTATES IN LOWER CONSTANTIA, SAY APKF AGENTS

The Anne Porter Knight Frank two-girl team which has been serving the Lower Constantia area for some 25 months now, report that their area now desperately lacks security villages.

Helene du Plessis and Mandy Kuhn say that they have daily enquiries for homes in security villages in their area – but in many cases they are unable to meet them because there has been a serious lack of new development in this field for some time.

“People,” said Kuhn, “are now understandably worried about the crime, despite the success of local neighbourhood watch bodies and patrol firms. This worry has become so persistent that some are now reluctant to live in free-standing homes on their own plots. That is one major factor driving the demand for security estates in the area. The other is quite simply that so many people always have and always will want to live in Lower Constantia.”

Du Plessis said that there are many people already living in Constantia who are looking to scale down there and, once again, are reluctant to leave the area – because it is so pleasant.

In general, she said, people in lower Constantia are looking for security villages in the R2,5 to R3,5 million price range.

“We feel,” said Kuhn, “that it is time the authorities seriously considered rezoning to allow one or two lower Constantia villages to be developed”.

The fear that such projects might spoil the attraction of the area, said Kuhn, is groundless. Provided new developments are appropriately designed and the estates are limited to 20 or 30 homes in all they will enhance, not lower, the appeal of the area.

“Our experience,” said du Plessis, “is that the boutique type of security village usually increases the value of all homes in its area – and this has been proven again and again.”

Kuhn and du Plessis stressed that although there is a shortage of security units, they do still come on the market from time to time and APKF is handling its fair share of these.

For further information, contact Mandy Kuhn on 082 603 4584 or Helene du Plessis on 079 528 6514. Both agents can also be contacted at the APKF office on 021 671 9120.