Kalk Bay, Cape Town

At first glance, Kalk Bay looks like one of those places where time seems to have stopped - a freeze-frame village of sun-bleached Edwardian villas, classic apartments with ocean-view  balconies and salty beachfront eateries. It even has a colourful little fishing harbour to complete the impression.

But actually, there is nothing at all sleepy about it. Home to a highly multicultural and cosmopolitan community that includes actors, artists, authors, chefs, musicians, poets and potters as well as fishermen, hoteliers, restaurateurs and shopkeepers, this is one of Cape Town's most vibrant and exciting suburbs - and a magnet for both SA and international tourists. 

Located on the False Bay coast between St James and Fish Hoek, it also has a fascinating history, first as an outpost of the Dutch East India Trading Company, then as a whaling station and then as a fishing hamlet housing many immigrants of Spanish, Filipino and Malaysian descent. In the 1880s, it became a fashionable holiday retreat for affluent Capetonians and in the 1960s it once again gained renown, for resisting the Group Areas Act and remaining the only "mixed-race" town in SA.

Today, it has been incorporated into greater Cape Town and offers residents a lifestyle second to none, says John Silva, a long-time resident himself and the area specialist for the Chas Everitt International property group.

"We enjoy whale-watching in the bay from July to November, buying freshly-caught fish for dinner and browsing in our great bookstores as well as all the fascinating shops down Main Road," he says. "As a resident, you can also pick the quieter times to visit Kalk Bay's amazing variety of restaurants, go hiking in the mountains behind the village or enjoy the walking route along the shore as far as Muizenberg and take in more of the area's history."

There are also tidal pools at Dalebrook and The Brass Bell that are regularly cleaned and limed and frequented by regulars that swim throughout the year, and Kalk Bay even has its own dinner-theatre. Access to the Cape Town CBD is easy via the commuter train line that runs all the way down the False Bay coast to Simon's Town, or via the newly-upgraded Main Road (M5), and for those with families, there is a good selection of schools in Kalk Bay itself or just down the road in Fish Hoek, as well as the private Waldorf and Reddam schools in Constantia. 

For groceries and other necessities, The Arcade shopping centre in Fish Hoek and the Longbeach Mall in Sun Valley are just a few minutes' drive away, and the Blue Route Mall and Constantia Village centre are also popular.

So it is no surprise, that there is always demand for property in the area - and a perennial shortage of homes for sale that underpins prices, because once people do become owners here, they seldom want to leave."

According to property data company Lightstone, more than 50% of homeowners in Kalk Bay have lived there for 11 years or more, and another 27% have lived there for between 5 and 10 years.

In addition, there are very strict controls over what can be developed in the village, and on what type of alterations can be made to its historic buildings and homes, although many have been renovated within to incorporate modern bathrooms and kitchens. The original Majestic and New Kings hotels overlooking the harbour were also redeveloped some years ago into Majestic Village, a complex of highly-sought after and rarely-available apartments where a two-bedroom unit recently sold for more than R6m.

Homes currently on sale in Kalk Bay range in price from around R2,4m for one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments all the way up to R14m for an historic four-bedroom mansion on Main Road. Two-bedroom cottages start at around R3,5m and three-bedroom homes at around R6,3m.