If there’s any indication South Africa’s seniors are searching for safety, it’s the sales data from two small towns.
In both towns, where crime is trending downward, pensioners make up 100% of buyers.
Safe South African towns loved by a senior community
In Hattingspruit, on the banks of the Tom Worthington Dam, and Hekpoort, at the foot of the Magaliesburg Mountains, crime is the least of residents’ concerns.
In Hattingspruit, properties rarely go on the market. The town of 10 078 people records, on average, 5 sales a year.
Yet of the 3 sales this year, every buyer has been over 65.
The area is safe. Last year, crime dropped to its lowest levels since the South African Police (SAPS) began reporting its crime statistics.
The town only recorded 28 crimes in the first quarter of the year; of these, 1 was a residential burglary.
The town currently boasts a 1.47% crime rate.
Besides safety, retiree-age buyers also benefit from living beside the dam and the lifestyle that it brings.
There’s carp and bass fishing. A nighttime hiking trail allows for excellent stargazing.
Then in Hekpoort, a farming community on the foothills of the Magaliesburg Mountains and only 60 kilometres from Pretoria, every buyer this year is over 65.
As in Hattingspruit, property sales in Hekpoort remain in the single digits.
Last year, Hekpoort also recorded its lowest crime rate since SAPS began publishing data in 2013.
In the first quarter, 64 crimes were recorded; 3 were residential burglaries.
Safety in Quiet Small Towns
Not every small town is safe.
But South Africa has a handful of low- and no-crime towns.
These include towns like Rhodes in Barkly East, where no crimes were recorded in the first quarter of this year, down from two crimes recorded over the same period last year.
In Coffee Bay on the Wild Coast, 36 crimes were recorded in the first quarter.
In the Western Cape, pensioners have Nuwerus as a low-crime option. The town recorded 17 crimes in the first quarter.
Finding a Safe Community
Pensioners looking to sell up and move to a safer community should think strategically about the areas they find attractive.
This is what you should consider if safety is important.
Count the thoroughfares.
In a suburb like Melkbosstrand, one of Cape Town’s safest suburbs, only a handful of roads link the suburb to its surrounds.
Fewer entry points mean you can station a security patrol at key points to monitor who enters and exits the suburb.
Assess the boundaries.
Boundaries matter as much as thoroughfares. If it’s easy to scale a wall to enter or exit a suburb, criminals will use that.
Consider the surrounding suburbs.
Crime will always leak into a suburb bordering a high-crime community. So, when looking for property, consider the crime statistics of the neighbouring areas.
Look into the unemployment and drug data.
South African crime has been linked to the country’s high unemployment rates. In areas with higher rates of unemployment, desperate residents may turn to crime for money. The same is true of drugs. When users become reliant on drugs, to support that habit, they may commit heinous acts.