Wellington | 12.995 million South African rand ($710,000)
A five-bedroom compound in the Western Cape’s wine country, with mountain and vineyard views.
Built two decades ago and set on nearly half an acre, this five-bedroom house is inside the 445-acre gated Diemersfontein Wine & Country Estate, which is known for its Pinotage, a South African varietal. It is near Wellington, a town of about 62,000. Cape Town, South Africa’s capital, is a 45-minute drive.
About 50 other residential properties — from large homes on two-plus acres to clusters of apartments with private club amenities — are scattered across Diemersfontein’s fields. An enclave with 18 single-story homes geared toward older residents is in the works.
Wine farm community residents can enroll their children in a private school, dine in the estate’s restaurant and frequent its wine-tasting facility. The estate is about 37 miles from the cafes, galleries, boutiques and museums in Stellenbosch, a university town known for its Cape Dutch architecture, which evokes South Africa’s colonial history.
Size: 6,577 square feet
Price per square foot: $107
Indoors: Beyond an electronic wooden sliding gate, the front door opens to an open-plan living room, dining room and kitchen with double-height Cape Dutch-style ceilings. There are exposed rafters, travertine floors, air-conditioning, under-floor heating and four tall windows in the front facade. The living room has a wood-burning stove in the fireplace at one end, with bookshelves extending to either side.
Frameless glass doors across the rear of the living areas fold and stack back, revealing an indoor/outdoor patio with a barbecue area, exposed beams and a thatched roof. Beyond the dining area, built-in wood drawers demarcate the kitchen, which has a center island with a breakfast bar, Caesar stone countertops, a Falcon Toledo stove and gas cooktop, and Miele appliances. There is a separate large scullery and a laundry room.
The spacious primary en suite bedroom has a dressing room, glass doors to a patio and private garden views. Upstairs, a study beneath a sloped thatched roof has two skylights and a large picture window with a slightly curved top and views of the Paarl mountains.
An underground wine cellar has brick walls, a barrel vault brick ceiling, and room for a dining table. Three one-bedroom cottages connect to the main house.
Outdoor space: Beyond the patio, a grass-and-paver checkerboard rings the saltwater swimming pool. Concrete walls enclose the grassy lawn beyond. The roofs of the patio and a carport are topped with solar panels. A fountain is just inside the entrance gate.
Costs: The homeowner’s association fee is 4,130 rand ($225) a month. Property taxes are 3,004 rand ($165) a month, or $1,980 annually.
Table Mountain Foothills | 12.9 million rand ($705,000)
A four-bedroom Victorian originally owned by a wealthy ostrich farmer in the stylish suburb of Oranjezicht.
This turreted four-bedroom house from 1901 sits at the foothills of Table Mountain in Oranjezicht, a stylish suburb in Cape Town’s City Bowl area with an eclectic mix of predominantly large Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian homes where a farm once stood.
Known as “The Mount,” this house, with a covered entrance and detached garage on a 0.19-acre lot, was initially owned by a wealthy ostrich farmer who hauled his feathers to Cape Town for export.
Nearby De Waal Park is fenced for dog walkers and has more than 120 species of trees, a fountain, a children’s play area, a bandstand and summer concerts.
The property is a 10-minute drive from Table Mountain’s cableway, or the Atlantic Seaboard beaches on the other side of the mountain. Eighty-five specialty shops are in the Garden Shopping Centre, including fashion-forward offerings, food outlets, gift shops, and health and beauty stores.
Size: 3,122 square feet
Price per square foot: $226
Indoors: Stained glass frames the entryway and panels on the Oregon pine front door. The foyer also has its original pressed-steel ceiling and double-sash windows with shutters. Pine flooring continues into a living room with a fireplace and wood-burning oven. A den across the hall has a wall-to-wall blue bookcase, another wood-burning oven and French doors to a covered front porch.
Tiles cover the kitchen and dining room floors. Wood cupboards are topped with granite countertops, including a breakfast counter between the kitchen and dining room. An extension beyond the enclosed kitchen has a baking station, two refrigerators, and built-ins. A tiled laundry room has a Bosch washer/dryer.
All four bedrooms have wood floors. The en suite primary bedroom has built-in cupboards and a new wood-burning stove in the original Victorian fireplace with an antique ceramic tile surround.
Two bedrooms facing north share a bathroom with an original free-standing Victorian cast-iron bath with ostrich-clawed feet. The back bedroom includes a fireplace and double doors to the lawn. Its aqua-tiled bathroom has a shower and wash basin.
One walkway leads to a garage and secure parking beneath a pergola, and another to a remote-controlled pedestrian gate.
Outdoor space: Steps descend from a back terrace to a free-form heated pool with mountain views.
Costs: Annual property taxes are 61,056 rand ($3,334).
Contact: Elisabeth Kretschmer, Elisabeth@Kapstadtinternational.co.za, kapstadtinternational.co.za; +27-83-252-4562
Upper Claremont | 12.95 million rand ($707,000)
A five-bedroom house from 2017 in a leafy suburban gated community.
This contemporary two-story house with a two-car garage was built in 2017. It is one of eight residences in a private suburban gated community built around a renovated old manor house on a former estate.
Upper Claremont, one of Cape Town’s southern suburbs, is known for large family homes and upmarket residential properties on tree-lined streets. It is close to the University of Cape Town, South Africa’s oldest university, and several well-regarded elementary and preparatory schools.
Nearby, the 12-acre Arderne Gardens, a heritage site dating to 1845, has mature trees, voluptuous hydrangeas and other shrubs, lily ponds and picnic tables. The 2.8-mile Liesbeek River Trail provides a shady path along the water.
Claremont’s Cavendish Square has 180 stores, several restaurants and eight cinemas. In nearby Constantia, the Conservatory at the Cellars-Hohenort Hotel beckons diners with traditional Cape Malay bobotie, crispy tempura prawns and springbok shank ravioli.
Size: 4,252 square feet
Price per square foot: $166
Indoors: The first level has engineered wood floors, an open living room with a gas fireplace, a dining area and a fully fitted kitchen with high-end finishes. A contemporary waterfall-style center island has a cooktop, hood and breakfast bar accommodating four stools. To one side of the center island is a scullery; to the other, an informal dining area/relaxation space has French doors to the walled garden. An en suite guest room is off a rear hall.
A tall open staircase with a landing rises to the second story. The primary bedroom has a walk-in closet and is en suite. Three other family bedrooms are also en suite.
Outdoor space: A long covered terrace, a green lawn and a wood deck surrounding a rectangular pool are reached through stacker doors from the living and dining rooms. There is a balcony off the primary bedroom.
Costs: Taxes are 8,040 rand ($440) a month; homeowner fees are 7,697 rand ($420) a month.
Contact: Kim Tresfon, kim.tresfon@pamgolding.co.za; pamgolding.co.za, Pam Golding Properties/Savills, +27-79-881-5105
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