New developments in Hout Bay, Cape Town

Hout Bay is a valley on the Atlantic side of the Cape Peninsula, south of Llandudno and enclosed by mountains, including Chapman's Peak and the Sentinel at the harbour mouth. The village centre has shops, schools and restaurants, the harbour still lands fish and runs boat trips, and the beach stretches across the head of the bay. Residential areas range from older plots near the village to estates such as Scott Estate and Penzance on the slopes.

Life here is more suburban than on the Atlantic Seaboard: bigger plots, more gardens and dogs, and quicker access to hiking and horse-riding trails. Hout Bay also includes the communities of Imizamo Yethu and Hangberg, and the area has a mix of incomes that buyers should understand before choosing a street.

There are three road links: Victoria Road over Suikerbossie towards Llandudno, Camps Bay and Sea Point; Hout Bay Main Road over Constantia Nek to the Southern Suburbs; and Chapman's Peak Drive south to Noordhoek. Chapman's Peak Drive is a 9 km toll road with 114 curves, and the operator closes it from time to time for safety.

MyCiTi runs three routes from Hout Bay: 108 (Hangberg, Hout Bay Harbour, Sea Point), 109 (Hout Bay, Imizamo Yethu, Sea Point) and 118 (Hangberg, Imizamo Yethu, Sea Point, Adderley in the city centre). Most residents still rely on a car, especially for school runs and trips to the airport.

Hout Bay has more freehold housing than the City Bowl or the Seaboard, and new supply reflects that. Expect small apartment blocks near the village and harbour, townhouse and cluster complexes, and plots or homes in security estates on the valley slopes. Large apartment towers are not typical here.

For context, the City's 2011 Census profile for the Hout Bay census suburb (which groups Beach Estate, Berg-en-Dal, Helgarda Estate, Hout Bay, Kronenzicht, Penzance Estate, Scott Estate and Tierboskloof, but not Imizamo Yethu or Hangberg) counted 17 329 people in 5 709 households, an average of 3.04 people per household. Browse current projects on our developments page.

Off-plan in Hout Bay usually means buying a unit in a townhouse or apartment complex, or a plot-and-plan package in an estate, before it is built. Check whether the price is a fixed-price build or a land price plus building contract, what the estate's architectural guidelines and levies are, and how long the developer expects construction to take. If the developer is a VAT vendor, VAT is included and no transfer duty is payable.

Our guide to buying off-plan in South Africa covers deposits, guarantees, occupational rent and what to look for in the sale agreement.

Hout Bay suits families who want a garden and good access to outdoor space, people who work from home or keep flexible hours, and buyers who want a coastal home with more land than most Atlantic Seaboard apartments offer. It is less suited to people who need to commute into the city every weekday at peak times without a car.

Buyers who like Hout Bay's mix of sea and mountain often also look at False Bay suburbs further south, or compare it with other parts of Cape Town.