Kleinmond

Kleinmond at a glance

Introduction

Kleinmond is a coastal town on the Whale Coast section of the Overberg region of the Western Cape Province of South Africa - about 97 km east of Cape Town International Airport (1h 14 min via N2) and between Betty's Bay (11 km) and Hermanus (37 km). Kleinmond is wedged between the Atlantic Ocean and the Kogelberg mountain range. It flanks a lagoon at the mouth of the Bot River and lies within the UNESCO-declared Kogelberg Biosphere reserve, which is home to about 1 600 species of fynbos – of which 150 is endemic. 

The town's name, meaning "small mouth" in Afrikaans, refers to its location at the mouth of the Bot River lagoon. Tourism plays a large role in the town's economy due to the its popularity with holiday makers from across the Western Cape and Cape Town in particular. Kleinmond’s has a unique offering -  a village atmosphere at the sea within a nature reserve which protects it from over-development and densification.

Kleinmond forms part of the Overstrand municipality and has according to the 2011 census 6 634 inhabitants at a density of 930 / sq.km. Its demographical make-up is 36.3% White, 34.8% Black, 27.6% Coloured whilst 60.1% speak Afrikaans as a first language, 25.5% Xhosa, 7.6% English and 3.2% Sotho.

Lifestyle

Kleinmond’s infrastructure, safety and convenience as well as its natural beauty and easy lifestyle in a caring community, makes this an attractive lifestyle for home buyers across the spectrum – from those who are planning for retirement to families working from home or people who long for a perfect holiday or weekend second home. 

For the more fit or young-at-heart, Kleinmond offers a wealth of outdoor activities including safe swimming and surfing, kayaking or canoeing in the lagoon, mountain biking, long walks along the beach and whale watching. Several activity groups such as local bird watching and hiking make use of the nature trails through the indigenous fynbos of the Kogelberg Biosphere - of which 150 fynbos are endemic and occurs nowhere else in the world. There are troops of baboons, rock dassies, lynx and even wild leopards against the cliff or rock faces. Bird watchers can view Bank Cormorant and Cape Rockjumpers along the seashore and spoonbills and about 360 type of birds along the lagoon’s wetland area – or they can visit the land based Jackass penguin colony at Stoney Point in the adjacent Bettys Bay.

All conveniences are close at hand, including shops such as the Superspar shopping centre in Main Road (where the CCH Kleinmond shop is located) and the OK Minimarket in the Kogelberg Arcade. Three of the 4 major banks in South Africa are present in Kleinmond – i.e. ABSA, Nedbank and First National Bank.

General medical services includes 4 general practitioners and 2 pharmacists, 4 dentists, 2 optometrist as well as the Kleinmond clinic and the Gerimed frail care facility.

Specialist medical services are easily accessible in Hermanus 35 km (31 min) and the Helderberg area of Cape Town – e.g. Vergelegen Medi-Clinic 69 km (58 min). 

Kleinmond has a Primary and a Junior School whilst Hermanus has a Curro Private School (High and Primary) as well as state High and Primary Schools.

A small fishing boat harbour has in the last few years been upgraded around the Harbour Road area and offers in a way Kleinmond’s own waterfront - a variety of eateries serving fresh fish and sushi, coffee shops, curio and home interior shops, a pottery and an art gallery.

Kleinmond boasts with 2 top golf courses – the Arabella Estate course rates as one of the top 5 in South Africa and Kleinmond’s town course rates as one of the top nine hole courses in the country. There are active tennis and bowling clubs in Kleinmond.

From May / June to November / December, Southern Right Whales can be seen from the coastline, as they come close to calf and nurse the young.

A herd of wild horses roams free in the marshlands at the Bot River lagoon area next to Rooisands Nature Reserve. The Equestrian Centre Overstrand is situated near Kleinmond next to the Rooisand Nature Reserve - they have short and scenic rides into the wetland or vlei area and access to view the wild horses. 

Kleinmond's beach is one of only 39 Blue Flag beaches in South Africa (23 Blue Flag beaches in the Western Cape) and is popular with holiday makers and Capetonians looking for a weekend breakaway.

Property Market

The property buyer profile of Kleinmond has during the last few years started to change as more younger business people with families and working from home, started moving into the area and commuting either into Cape Town for meetings or to the airport. During the last year, 78% of the stable owners have been younger than 50 year old, whilst 63% of the recent buyers have been younger than 50 and only 26% between 50 to 64 years old.

The “semi-gration” to the Western Cape has also reached Kleinmond’s shores – as more buyers from other provinces are looking for a lifestyle change or a future retirement property. This is reflected in the statistics about the period of ownership – where 71% of all owners have been owner for 7 years or less and 56% for less than 5 years (as taken from period Oct 2014 to Sept 2015 figures). Only 18% has been owners for more than 11 years.

Kleinmond is however still a very popular retirement destination as it offers most of the city’s conveniences but without the more impersonal lifestyle and higher crime rates retirees encounter in cities or large towns.

Although Kleinmond’s infrastructure is much better developed than the adjacent towns, its median freehold property valuation of R1 150 000 is lower than the 3 closest towns on the Whale Route – Bettys Bay (R1 300 000), Pringle Bay (R1 300 000) and Rooi-Els (R2 400 000). It has fully-tarred roads, street lights and a good variety of retail shops and more amenities. Kleinmond is however also close to almost fully developed, so there are far fewer vacant stands available than in Bettys Bay. There are in total 3 118 freehold properties (91,1% of all property), 209 properties in estates (6,1%) and 99 sectional title properties (2,89%) in Kleinmond. The average household income range is between R24 000 and R37 000 – i.e. in the LSM 9 High range.

The undeveloped stands near the Kleinmond beach are quite sought after and the prices of sea view stands range between R900 000 to R1 500 000. Larger erfs of 1000 sq.m and more but located closer towards the mountainside is available from R590 000. Houses near the beach prices varies on average between R2 800 000 to around R5 800 000. Top-end luxury properties are however available up to R7 million. 

The majority of retirees are looking to buy homes under R1 100 000. Property prices in some of the suburbs of Kleinmond starts at about R800 000 for homes in the Palmiet area, while those in the Klein Berlyn area range from about R950 000 to R6.9 million. In one of the newer areas, Heuningkloof, home prices start at around R1 200 000. Sectional title property or apartments are also available – with small bachelor flats in the centre of town priced from R300 000 whilst larger apartments sell for R550 000 (1 bedroom) and R635 000 tot R850 000 (2 bedrooms).

The Kleinmond property market sales has been showing a positive annual growth pattern since the lowest point of the cycle in 2008 when there were only 88 sales (7.3 sales per month). Total sales in 2014 was 129 properties (12 sectional title & 117 own title) – i.e. about 10,75 sales per month, or a month on month increase of about 47% in comparison with 2008. Median price increases during the last 10 years have also shown good capital growth. Own title property has grown from R614 000 (2005) to R1 102 000 (2015) whilst median prices for sectional title property increased from R540 000 (2005) to R915 000 (2015). That relates to increases of respectively 79,5% (own title) and 69,4% over the 10 year period – i.e. 7,95% annual growth for own title property and 6,94% for sectional title property.