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

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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

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HELDERBERG

4Districtmail

25 September, 2014

BOLAND

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5Districtmail

25 September, 2014

BOLAND

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6Districtmail

25 September, 2014

BOLAND

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7Districtmail

25 September, 2014

BOLAND

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9Districtmail

25 September, 2014

BOLAND

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Districtmail

25 September, 2014

BOLAND

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Districtmail

25 September, 2014

BOLAND

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Cheryl Brand 081 271 2584

t 021 202 2200

e sales@somersetlakes.co.za

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

of indigenous landscaping and mature forest, 4 kilometres of trails, and

a clubhouse with swimming pool, lakeside beach and spectacular views,

Somerset Lakes offers a quality of life second to none.

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

townhouse in Somerset Wests most spacious development

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.

M

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t

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Somerset

West

To Cape Town

40 kms

Vergelegen

Mediclinic

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New Shopping

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Somerset Mall

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WATERFORD GREEN

SALES CENTRE OPEN

Saturday: 10am to 2pm

Sunday: 2pm to 5pm

Weekdays: 10am to 5pm

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

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15

Districtmail

25 September, 2014

BOLAND

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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

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STELLENBOSCH

17

Eikestadnuus

25 September, 2014

BOLAND

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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

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STELLENBOSCH

19

Eikestadnuus

25 September, 2014

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STELLENBOSCH

20

Eikestadnuus

25 September, 2014

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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

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25 September, 2014

BOLAND

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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

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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