25 SEPTEMBER
LESS ISMORE: 50% SOLDDURING PRESALES
ValdeVie launchesnewPoloVillage
Val De Vie Estates new Stefan
Antoni-designed Polo Village
sold out 50% of the available
apartments within two hours,
during thepre-sales launch last
week at the Val De Vie Estate
Ballroom. The available one
bedroom Polo Pads were sold
out within minutes of opening
the sales process.
Celebrity MC Nico Panagio
hosted the event, with guest
speakers Stefan Antoni and Ryk
Neethling. The pre-launch took
place in association with Ferrari,
and the prancing horses new
front-engined V12 monster, the
FF, and the 458 Italian Spider,
were on display and available for
test drives, aswas the Ferrari Cal-
ifornia 30 (the best-selling model
in Ferraris illustrious history).
The latter isalso thevehiclewhich
will go to one lucky buyer at the
Polo Village.
The quick take-up of the Polo
Pads showed us that there is a
strongdemand for thosewhowant
a luxurious, large, fully serviced
apartmentatValDeVie.Thereare
very limited opportunities to find
properties like this in the popular
Cape Winelands and this is an op-
portunity not to be missed, ac-
cording tomarketingdirectorRyk
Neethling.
I think theaffluentmarketnow
looks for a safe, spectacularly de-
signed, fully serviced investment
with concierge services, where
you can basically come and enjoy
an amazing time in the Paarl-
Franschhoek Valley, play a few
games of polo, enjoy the many
wine estates and delectable cui-
sine, and then simply hand over
your keys and head back to the re-
al world. The whole less is more
trend is now sweeping the globe
in theaffluentmarket.People tend
to scale down and travel lighter.
This is what we had inmindwhen
we commissioned Stefan Antoni
OlmesdahlTruenArchitects tode-
sign the Polo Village. Although
the design is understated, it af-
fords just about the best thatmon-
ey can buy from modern SMEG
appliances to oak hardwood floor-
ing.
Only Val De Vie homeowners
and buyers who pre-registered
and paid their deposits, were al-
lowed to attend the pre-launch.
Subsequent to the pre-launch, the
PoloVillagesaleswillnowbeopen
to the market as a whole.
Overall sales statistics for Val
De Vie Estate show an increase of
201,82% in the total sales value of
homes transferred in 2014, com-
pared to the same period a year
ago. Sales of erven at the Estate
showed an 18,21% increase in
turnover,whilst prices per square
metre of erven rose by awhopping
21,75%and the rateper squareme-
tre of homes sold, by almost 10%
during the same period
The Polo Village in Val de Vie Estate is a hot seller, with 50% of the units sold out.
2Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
LeapfrogGordonsBayexcelsonceagain
The Annual National Conven-
tion of Leapfrog Property
Group celebrated their 7th an-
niversary at the popular world
class venue, The Elangeni Ma-
harani Tsogo SunHotel in Dur-
ban from 2 to 4 September.
A total of 141 delegates, includ-
ing agents, franchisees and ad-
ministrators from all over the
countrywere treatedat thisworld
class venue for three days by top
guest speakers, including thepop-
ular motivational speaker Gavin
Sharples and Douglas Kruger, a
professional speaker and five
timeswinner of theSouthAfrican
Public Speaking Championships.
Other key speakers were from
STBB Attorneys, Private Proper-
ty and Betterbond, who informed
and updated the delegates on top-
ics and legislation relating to the
real estate industry.
At the spectacularGalaAwards
ceremony, the Gordons Bay of-
fice was awarded a total of eleven
awards in various categories, in-
cluding the award for the Top
Country Office of the Year- for
unit sales as well as sales value,
for the 6th consecutive year.
The Gordons Bay franchise
has excelled once again and con-
tinues to produce excellent re-
sults against much bigger bran-
ches. This is an excellent achieve-
ment for a franchise operating in
a small coastal town and a testi-
mony to the dedication and pro-
fessionalism of the Gordons Bay
office, says Bruce Swain, the
managing director of Leapfrog
Property Group.
This office is passionate about
Gordons Bay and promotes it
continuously as a popular desti-
nation, which is beneficial to its
entire community. For the past
four years, the LeapfrogGordons
Bay office was the main sponsor
of the annual 21 km Leapfrog
Western Province Champion-
ships Road Race, and will also be
hosting the Leapfrog Mixed Trips
Competition at the Gordons Bay
Bowling Club early next year, for
the second time. This is one of the
many reasons why Leapfrog has
become a household name and
maintains a very high market
share in Gordons Bay, Swain
said.
What is noteworthy is that all
of this offices agents received
achievement awards for out-
standing results, including, Hen-
ning Van Aswegen, who won a
Club Class Award, Sanet Cross
and Jeanette Wearing won Busi-
ness Class Awards, Rupert Gous
won a First Class Award, whilst
Lee Clarke and Kevin Wearing
both won World Class Awards
(the highest award presented to a
Leapfrog agent nationally). The
Partnership of Henning Van As-
wegen and Kobus Bosman won
two awards in the category as the
Top National Country Partner-
ship for both unit sales, as well as
highest commission percentage
earned.
We are very blessed and once
again this has been a phenomenal
year, irrespective of the tough
economic climate.
Leapfrog Gordons Bay is re-
garded as a top estate agency and
I attribute these achievements to
all the agents in my office, as well
as our admin staff, who have con-
tributed to our ongoing success
due to their hard work, passion
and dedication, says Kevin
Wearing, principal of Leapfrog in
Gordons Bay.
The Gordons Bay Leapfrog team are, in the front from the left, Henning and Belinda van Aswegen, Kevin
and Jeanette Wearing , Alisha Gous, Natasha Green, Sanet Cross and Catherine Winn. In the back are Giel
Viljoen, Rupert Gous and Lee Clarke.
3Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
4Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
5Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
6Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
7Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
9Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
10
Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
11
Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
Cheryl Brand 081 271 2584
t 021 202 2200
In the heart of sought-after
Somerset West, a magnificent new
residential estate is taking shape.
Featuring 6 hectares of pristine lakes and water features, 15 hectares
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Other features include state-of-the-art security, superfast fibre-optic
connectivity, an new shopping centre just 900 metres away, and a
Curro Castle School on the estate.
Waterford Green is a beautifully planned contemporary country village
consisting of just 48 double-storey, freestanding townhouses
in a tranquil setting close to the waters edge.
Dont miss this opportunity to secure a brand-new freestanding
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from R1,3 million! Transfer is set for late 2015.
www.somersetlakes.co.za
MACHETE.CO.ZA7051/SL39X7DM.4
INTRODUCING
WATERFORD GREEN
Upmarket finishes include Gres Porcelain tiles and Hansgrohe taps
Fitted appliances include ovens, hobs (gas option) & extractors
3 bed, 2 bath homes including garage from R1,6 million
2 bed, 2 bath homes from R1,3 million
42 hectares of freedom for sale
FIRST PHASE SOLD OUT IN SIX WEEKS! SECOND PHASE NOW SELLING
Freestanding townhouses from R1,3 million
Including VAT. No transfer duty.
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Saturday: 10am to 2pm
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12
Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
Agent sharing strategy not always great for sellers
Its time for a frankdiscussion on the
sharing strategy that many estate
agents use in the Helderberg area.
The question that needs to be an-
swered is: Is it really good for the sell-
er?
Every property seller wants to sell
for themaximumthemarketwillpay
andtheyreentitledtothat.Theonly
condition under which a buyer will
pay theirmaximum for a property is
when they are competing against
someone else for it, and they have a
fear of loss.Without this competition
abuyerwill try to seehowmuch low-
er they can push the seller.
When a seller gives an agent a sole
mandate to sell their property they
expect the agent to get them thehigh-
est price the market will pay. For an
agent to do this, they need to market
the property really well so that all
buyers looking for such a property
will enquire on it, view it, and then
hopefully make an offer. To achieve
the best offers, the marketing needs
to be really strong to create buyer
competition.
Unfortunately for estate agents,
strongmarketingcostsmoneymon-
ey that most agencies would prefer
not to pay. So, instead of doing what
they should do for their seller, they
spend very little on marketing and
very quickly open up the listing to
other agents, hoping that these other
agents will bring buyers through.
This strategy does result in buyer
viewings where a competitor agen-
cy brings a buyer through aproperty
under sole mandate with another
company.But is this good for the sell-
er?
No, itsnot.Thisisbecausethebuy-
er agentwants to secure theproperty
for their buyer at the lowest price,
and acts as a hindrance to the listing
agentnegotiatingwiththebuyer.The
listing agentwill also not knowwhat
thebuyersmaximumofferwouldbe,
as he has to work through the buyer
agent. The better strategy
for a seller is when their
mandate agent does invest
in decent marketing and
the buyers enquire directly
with the listing agent. The
listing agent will know
what interest there is, can
get the buyers to compete
against each other, which will result
in the best price for the seller. The
facts prove this.
With strong marketing there is no
need to share a listing. Buyers fol-
lowhouses and so theywill enquire
of the listing agent. The threat that
so-called buyer agents make that
theywontbringtheirbuy-
ers through is nonsense
as no agent owns a buy-
er.Whoeverhasthelisting
will get the enquiry, as
long as they market prop-
erly and therein lies the
key.
Sadly for those agents
whohaveaweakvalueoffering,cant
market properties well, and cant se-
cure sole mandates, this means that
theyareexcluded frombringingbuy-
ers through other agents listings.
They moan and squeal, post anony-
mous blog articles, and say its bad
for sellers.
Steve Caradoc-
Davies
13
Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
14
Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
15
Districtmail
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
HELDERBERG
021 841 4285 021 887 2840 021 870 4600
SOLD is die mees koste-effektiewe ho-impak keuse vir die bemarking van eiendom in die Boland
Biggest and Best Property Guide in the Boland
16
Eikestadnuus
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
STELLENBOSCH
17
Eikestadnuus
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
STELLENBOSCH
Biggest and Best Property guide in the Boland
SOLD bied die grootste en maklikste toegang tot die
mark vir eiendomkopers en -verkopers in die Boland.
021 870 4600021 841 4285
021 887 2840
18
Eikestadnuus
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
STELLENBOSCH
19
Eikestadnuus
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
STELLENBOSCH
20
Eikestadnuus
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
STELLENBOSCH
21
Paarl Post
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
PAARL/WELLINGTON
OFF-ROAD:CHEROKEEGOES EVERYWHEREWITH EASE
Jeep introduces its toughnewCherokee
FRANS LE ROUX
Being a lover of all things SUV,
I jumped at the opportunity to
sample the latest Jeep Cherokee.
Afterall, thisisJeeps5thgenera-
tion Cherokee available in South
Africa.
If you are slightly confused by
Jeeps large model line-up, let me
simplify it a bit. If the car has the
word Cherokee on the back, then
all you should know is that it is
slightly more compact than the
GrandCherokee.What thatwordal-
so means is that the car will be very
capable off the beaten track.
I picked upmy not-so-inconspicu-
ous metallic orange Jeep at San-
down Motors Century City and
spent and entire dirt-filled weekend
with it.
Lets discuss the looks first. Well,
the front is certainly unique. Those
angular lights and sharp-edged sig-
nature Jeep grille, are all featured
to make sure this new Cherokee
stands out from the crowd.
My test vehiclewas the top-of-the-
range Trailhawk 4x4 edition which
hadnearlyall thebells andwhistles.
At the rear, however, things are
more subdued. Jeep have opted for
a familiar light-cluster and bootlid
design which designers borrowed
from the Grand Cherokee. Twin ex-
hausts certainly do not hide the
Jeeps athletic prowess. With this
Trailhawk version you do get beau-
tiful 17-inch black rims which cer-
tainly look the part. Although they
arent overly large, designers fo-
cused more on functionality than
unnecessary street-cred. Using a
higher profile tyre, the Jeep can eas-
ily cover trickier terrain.
As I have stated before, Jeeps
products are on the up. They have
workedhard toensure thatacertain
level of quality is reached especially
with their interiors. For the first
timeinyears, thisCherokees interi-
or is a nice place to be. Some of the
materials andgeneral lay-out is also
borrowed from its more esteemed
Grand Cherokee sibling. The most
eye-catching feature is a large 21cm
touch screen neatly situated in the
centre of the console. Fromhereyou
can control your music, cellphone,
satellite navigation and even cli-
mate control. I am happy to report
that this system works very well.
I have to commend Jeep on their
audioquality.Usuallyanaspectthat
mostcompaniesoverlook,Jeepused
a9-speakerAlpinesystemthatpush-
es out more than 500 watts of pure
entertainment pleasure.
The well bolstered front seats of-
fer good support all round, and even
a strenuous long-distance tripwont
ruin your back. A large cargo-area
(591F) isalsowelcomedif thevehicle
will be used on the school-run or as
a glorified grocery carrier.
The top-spec Trailhawk which I
tested, used a 3.2 V6 petrol engine
producing a decent 200kW and
315Nm. Nothing unusual there, but
whatwas remarkable is the gearbox
paired with this meaty V6. Just as
one gets use to the odd 7 or 8 speed
shifters, suddenly the market turns
to all things 9-speed. This Cherokee
thenhas almost twice the amount of
gears as the automatic Cherokee it
replaces. It begs the question, when
is enough really enough?
Cruising at the highway limit the
Cherokees engine is barely ticking
over. The rev needle is coasting at
about 1 600 rpm. That drastically
aids the 2-ton SUVs fuel economy.
When you drive mostly on high-
ways, the Jeep can return close to
13km/F. However in town, not even
the9cogscansaveyoufromdreaded
fuel stops. My overall usage after
three days was just over 10km/F.
When you do decide to stomp on
the accelerator, the Cherokee is no
slouch. A respectable 0-100 time of
8,5secondsshouldscareoffmostboy
racers.
The aspect I enjoyed themost was
certainly thewaythisTrailhawkde-
voured a tricky 4x4 obstacle route.
Close to where I live is a private
4x4 road that takes you up and over
the picturesque Perdeberg moun-
tains. After selecting the 4-wheel-
drive low-rangeandlockingtherear
differential, no gradient was too
steep or rocks too slippery. Here the
Cherokee came into its own and
lived up to its best-in-class 4x4 capa-
bility. With all these aids helping
younottodamageyourcar,crossing
seriously difficult terrain becomes
childs play. Not once in my two-
hour trip did I feel unsafe or that the
Cherokee will not make it over the
next crest. On my way down the
mountain the ever effective hill-de-
cent control came tomy rescue. The
only thingthatmightrunout isyour
patience. Thoroughly impressed, I
made my way home.
Direct rivals to the Jeep include
the Landrover Freelander, Mitsub-
ishi Pajero or even Nissans Path-
finder. Youmight even consider the
evergreen Fortuner, but if you take
into consideration value for money
andstandardspecificationtheCher-
okee trumps the Toyota as well.
Buyers can currently choose be-
tween a 2.4 litre petrol and the pow-
erful 3.2 V6. A diesel variant will be
introducedtoourmarket inthenear
future.The4-wheeldriveTrailhawk
retails for R607 900 and Jeep offers
a comprehensive six year/
100 000 km maintenance plan.
This Cherokee is truly a breath of
fresh air in an otherwise dull mid-
sized SUV lineup. It offers striking
looks, loads of standard kit to play
with and is nearly unstoppable off-
road.
If you want to stand out from the
crowd,give thisCherokeea test run.
The Jeep Cherokee here on a tricky 4X4 course owners should not be afraid to take their car off the beaten
track. PHOTO: FRANS LE ROUX
26
Donderdag
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
AUTO
HondaBalladeElegance: the sweetnature
HANJO STIER
Every now and then, one slips
through the net. Despite being
voluntarily bombardedwith the
latest car-related information
on a daily basis, the new Honda
Ballades arrival at my house
caused a smidgen of confusion.
It looks nothing like the last Bal-
lade I reviewed. When did they
change it?
According to one of my unrelent-
ing sources, at the end ofMay. This
makes a lot of sense as I had just
gone on honeymoon so my brain
was fixatedonotheractivities.Fur-
ther research even revealed an in-
vitation to the local launch and a
comprehensive press release;
which is coming in quite handy
right now.
Many of you may remember the
Ballade of days gone by; a lekker lo-
cal version in the 80s and 90s of
whatwasessentiallyabudgetCivic
sedan. Back then it was one of Hon-
dasbest-sellerssowhenthisCity
sedan was born about three years
ago, they quickly renamed it Ballade and
brought it to town.
May 2014 saw the introduction of this refur-
bished Ballade which boasts with sufficient
technical and design changes to confuse dis-
tracted journalists and win even more cus-
tomers looking for a spacious, comfortable
and affordable sedan. Slightly longer and tall-
er, the press release tells me that 86% of its
shape is new.
Its nose still reminds me of other
models like the Civic or Insight this
is a good thing while the profile is
drawn with stronger lines, ending in
amoresophisticatedandelegantrear.
The interior has also been spruced up
with new shapes, controls and more
space; especially at the back.
Should you go for this Elegance
model, you may enjoy a multi-func-
tion steering wheel with cruise con-
trol and audio buttons as well as a
market-leading touchy-feely audio
system. This 7-inch icon-based unit
plays RDS radio, CD, mp3/wma,
HDMI andBluetooth sources through
eight speakers.
More important to many South Af-
ricans is the fact that Ballade comes
with black fabric seats and an even
bigger boot (536F) with a wider and
lower opening. Safety is taken care of
by six airbags, active head restraints,
traction control, stability control and
seat belt pre-tensionerswith load lim-
iters.
Honda tinkered with the Ballades
front suspension, electric power
steering and engine ever so slightly to
increase efficiency and comfort levels. For
that trip into the South African countryside,
150 mm of ground clearance will come in just
as handy as the engines willing and frugal
nature. The 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol mo-
tor has identical power outputs to the previ-
ous Ballade (88 kW/145 Nm) but reduced fric-
tion and weight result in better efficiency;
0-100km/h takes 9,6 seconds (our best was a
very impressive 8,3), top speed is 185 km/h
and claimed average fuel consumption is
5,9F/100 km from the 40F tank.
While our weekly consumption average
was 7F/100 km, it reconfirmed my belief that
1 500 cc engines are sweet, eager and free-rev-
ving in nature. Although the four 73 mm cyl-
inders have a relatively long stroke (89,4 cm),
this engine has no problem pulling the Bal-
lades 1 060 kg along at a decent pace.
Give it horns and the VTEC-equipped en-
ginescreamstoalmost7 000 rpmwhileannoy-
ing the traction control in first and second of
its five forward gears. This peppy perform-
ancemaydecreasewithadditionalweightbut
anyHonda fanwilldelight in thismotors exu-
berance at high crankshaft revolutions.
Just as enjoyable are the cars light pedals,
steering feel and comfortable seats. The in-
strument cluster houses a big speedowith eco
lighting, a rev counter, digital fuel level and
consumption displays as well as a trip com-
puter. Themissing temperature gauge is rep-
resented by a blue and red warning light.
The Honda Ballade has undergone suffi-
cient changes to confuse distracted journos
while offering better value and impressive
toys. It is available in six colours, two trim
levels, manual or CVT automatic gearbox
with a 3-year/100 000km warranty, one year
roadside assistance and 4-year/60 000km ser-
vice plan. This 1.5 Elegance Manual model
currently retails for R220 990.
Galimoto Media
Honda tinkered with the Ballades front suspension, electric power steering and engine ever-so-slightly to in-
crease efficiency and comfort levels PHOTO: QUICKPIC
27
Donderdag
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
AUTO
MODDER ORAL: Tydens
die Kaapse been van die
SA Nasionale Tydrenkam-
pioenskappe het Paarliet
en veldry-yster, Giniel de
Villiers, daarin geslaag
om sy eerste oorwinning
in die reeks te behaal. De
Villiers het sy Castrol-To-
yota-Yaris-S2000 oor die
wenstreep gekry slegs n
paar sekondes voor sy
spanmaats Leeroy Poulter
en Elvene Coetzee. Poulter
het sodoende ook sy al-
gehele posisie bo-aan die
punteleer versterk. Hier
tref Poulter n water-ob-
struksie gedurende die
Kaap tydren.
FOTO: QUICKPIC
28
Donderdag
25 September, 2014
BOLAND
SOLD
AUTO
PERFORMANCE: The
all-new Volvo XC90 is
set to launch locally
around July 2015. The
R-Design derivative
will follow shortly aft-
er. Full details, as well
as pricing will be con-
firmed closer to the
time.The visual prom-
ise of a dynamic ride
is confirmed by the
driver-centric interior
featuring R-Design
sports seats in Nubuck
textile and perforated
leather. A choice of
Drive-E powertrains of-
fering up to 295 kW
and superb chassis en-
sure an agile driving
experience..
PHOTO: QUICKPIC