Fast facts about living in Cape Town’s waterside homes

Although waterside homes in Cape Town and the city’s surrounding suburbs cost considerably more than houses further away from a beach or waterfront, buying or investing in a waterside home in the fairest Cape is arguably one of the best property investments you could make in South Africa.

Prime location and lifestyle

Of course, owning and living in a Cape Town waterside home encompasses far more than investment value, since you will enjoy an unparalleled lifestyle. Because of comparatively high property prices, prime locations, and views par excellence, sought-after water-frontage property brings a unique atmosphere and ambience to the home, its inhabitants, and their lifestyle.

First prize – oceanside or beachfront

A home fronting onto one of the Cape’s pristine Blue Flag, finely grained, white, sandy beaches is usually first prize in the Cape Town property stakes. Although the Cape coastline is long, the supply of seaside homes is finite. Demand will always outstrip supply, a fact that the ever-increasing, premium prices will continue to reflect. Whether one lives in a waterside home on the Atlantic or Indian Oceans of the Western Cape, the sea breeze carries a distinctive marine aroma, quite different from that of the ocean along the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape coastal regions. The aroma of Cape Town’s two oceans is reminiscent of mussels, freshly harvested from the rocks during low tide, scrubbed and placed directly into the pot – a heavenly “fresh from the sea” smell like no other.

Other Cape waterside locations

Not all waterside properties in the Cape overlook beaches and the sea. The Cape is known for its clear streams and rivers, many of which are fed from mountain run-offs. Natural dams, often near vlei or wetland areas, usually receive clean, clear water from springs and similar underground sources. Arum lilies grow prolifically and naturally around these vlei lands and freshwater dams.

The rainy season

As any Capetonian will tell you, you should not be surprised if you experience four seasons in one day in the Cape, whether you choose to call it the Cape of Storms, the fairest Cape, the Mother City, or the Cape of Good Hope, where it is wise to be prepared when going outdoors, especially when the Cape Doctor is making its presence felt. The Cape Doctor is a notorious south-westerly wind that often reaches very high velocities. It was thought to blow all things evil and dirty out of and away from human settlements, hence its name.

Cape Town is situated in a winter rainfall region of South Africa. Conversely, in most of South Africa, the rainy season occurs in summer. The Cape is intensely and vividly green during these wet winter months. In the Western Cape, the rains that fall from the overcast skies are also different. While heavy downpours may occur and low-lying areas may become saturated, the typical Cape winter rain consists of a mist-like precipitation that may last for days or weeks on end. Such rainfall penetrates the soil deeply, rather than running off, as does the water produced by torrential Highveld showers as fat, heavy raindrops pelt the ground forcefully.

Western Cape/Cape Town waterside property specialists

Our professional Fine & Country South Africa estate agents who specialise in Cape Town waterside home buying and selling, have personal, in-depth, and real-life experience of what living in the Cape is like near a body of water, and of all the lifestyle factors and other conditions that you might expect to encounter there.

With the dedicated personal assistance of a locally based Cape Town Fine & Country agent, you will have access to superior knowledge and information that will enable you to make a qualified, informed decision about the Cape Town waterside home of your aspirations and dreams – your Eden.