Two South African estates have been named in New World Wealth’s top ten lifestyle estates for 2023.

Steyn City in Gauteng and Val de Vie in the Western Cape are the two South African estates in New World’s Wealth’s list.

New World Wealth said estate living is rising globally, particularly among the wealthy.

It estimates that 50% of centi-millionaires – those with a net worth over $100 million – will either live or have second homes at lifestyle estates by 2050.

The top 10 lifestyle estate picks for 2023 are (in alphabetical order):

• Bighorn Golf Club in the USA
• Estancia Club in the USA
• Jack’s Point in New Zealand
• Madison Club in the USA
• Millbrook in New Zealand
• Predator Ridge in Canada
• Steyn City in South Africa
• Toscana Castelfalfi in Italy
• Val de Vie in South Africa
• Yellowstone Club in the USA

New World Wealth said all the estates picked were well-located, safe, well-maintained, private, and environmentally aware.

It added that there were several possible reasons for the rising popularity of estate living across the globe.

For one, with limited or controlled traffic on the estates, children are safer. Estates also boast high-end facilities, including gyms, cycling paths, tennis courts, golf courses, shops and restaurants.

The safety and easy access to facilities offer greater convince to affluent ex-pats who regularly travel globally. In addition, estates have birdlife, wildlife, nice scenery, and many environmental benefits.

Eco-friendly estates protect river systems, prefer indigenous vegetation, promote sustainable energy solutions like energy and water recycling, and have bio-corridors and wilderness zones that preserve dead and dying trees used by some of the world’s rarest birds to nest.

In addition, eco-friendly estates offer natural forms of pest control, such as the installation of owl boxes.

New World Wealth said that owl boxes are incredibly popular in South Africa, with one owl able to kill ten rodents a night, reducing the need for dangerous pesticides.

Although not mentioned by New Wealth Fund, South African estates also offer respite from load shedding.

For instance, Steyn City’s City Centre has backup power systems that ensure 24-hour power.

Although not on the New Wealth Fund’s list, Midstream estate has a R200 million plan to install a large battery bank to store energy from solar, Eskom, and, if necessary, a host of generators to protect residents from load shedding.

Any plans to reduce the regularity and intensity of load shedding will make estates highly sought after by South Africans, especially those with wealth.