The West Coast town of Vredenburg is booming and has in the past year notched up nearly twice as many property registrations as the combined figure for neighbouring Saldanha and Langebaan.

Johan Truter, co-owner of the Aida West Coast franchise, says the town’s growth can largely be attributed to its central location.

“It’s within 25 kilometres of seven other West Coast towns and has become the de facto shopping and business centre for residents of these towns while the residential property market is booming in support of the building industry and Mittal Steel’s operations.

“The new West Coast Mall, expected to open its doors at the end of next year, will give a further boost to this trend and capture an even bigger slice of local buying power. Many large chain stores have signed up for retail space in the new centre and their presence will make it unnecessary for locals to travel the 140 kilometres to Cape Town for their monthly shopping.”

The Pick ‘n Pay centre was upgraded recently and construction of the new mall starts in November.

Truter says properties at the cheaper end of the market are in great demand and currently most transactions take place under R800 000. “Compared to neighbouring towns, this segment still offers excellent value.”

Properties at the top end of the market now reach prices of up to R2-million but, says Truter, properties at these prices still offer much more than in many other places. “For R2-million you can, for instance, buy a property with a private gym.”