Westville is located near Durban in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, which is fast growing decentralized hub situated approximately 9km from the Durban central business district. Westville forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality which also includes Durban. The town was originally laid out on the farm Westville, named of Martin West the British Lieutenant Governor of Natal and formed in 1847.

Lying between Sherwood and Pinetown, Westville is set amongst rolling hills, green suburb, peppered by meandering streams and tree lined roads. The homes in Westville are set on large properties and have remained affordable to potential home buyers. Westville is an established upmarket area, with the fourth most expensive average property prices in the province after suburbs such as Berea, Durban North and Umhlanga. Westville has limited sectional schemes with the majority of the market stock being freehold properties.

The redevelopment of Westville’s major commercial and retail centres and is home to four shopping malls, including the Pavilion Shopping Centre, Westville Village Mall, Westwood Mall and Westville Mall is strong evidence of the confidence in the suburb that is already experiencing a resurge of activity in its residential property market. Demand for well priced properties in the greater Westville area since January 2011 has increased considerably, as the area definitely offers good comparative value for money. Westville is also very accessible and well located within the greater road network of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.

Westville is very fortunate to be blessed with a good schooling infrastructure from pre-primary to university, with some of best government schools in the province such as Westville Boys High School and Westville Girls High School. Nearly 62% of the recent sellers of property in Westville are 50 years and older while 73% of the recent buyers are between the ages of 18 to 49 years of age. The University of KwaZulu Natal has a campus situated in the greater Westville area. Varsity College is also located in central Westville. The Westville Hospital is situated near the Pavilion Shopping Centre with easy access from the N3 national highway. Westville is also central to several main townships namely Cato Manor, Claremont and Chesterville.

In South Africa the economy has improved, inflation and interest rates have been decreasing, credit extension has also started loosening, properties if well priced are selling faster, the general demand for homes has increased which will eventually result in house prices increasing. Westville has business centres and office parks which have attracted many major companies and professional firms to the area. The number of residential sales in the Westville area has nearly halved since 2004 but interestingly enough the number of sales has remained relatively stable over the past three years.

Westville has a real abundance of green space and there are many parks, open spaces, sports clubs and the beautiful Palmiet Nature Reserve in close proximity. There is also an abundant bird life because of the tranquility and prevalence of lush indigenous trees and foliage, and is a quiet way of life whilst remaining relatively close to the centre of Durban. In addition you may choice to keep in shape at the Virgin Active Health Club which is situated at Westville Shopping Mall. Westville has a several churches including a Catholic, Baptist and Anglican churches. A mosque is also conveniently located near the Westville Hotel.

The level of activity in the residential property market in Westville has already shown mild strengthening in residential demand activity since late 2009/2010. We expect the situation will continue to improve substantially during the current year. The average house price in the Westville region is currently approximately R1.38M. It is interesting to note that the average house price was R700 000 in 2004. The average house prices increased rapidly during the periods from 2004 to 2006 thereafter from 2007 the average house prices have stabilized somewhat. The average homeowner in the suburb of Westville has owned their homes for more than 10 years with nearly 60% of the residents being 50 years of age or older.