IFA Hotels targets R1bn-a-year South African pipeline as Vilasita launches at Zimbali Lakes

IFA Hotels & Resorts (IFAHR), the Kuwait-listed international developer, plans to bring about R1 billion a year in real estate to the South African market, the group said, as it prepares to launch its next KwaZulu-Natal development.

The group will launch Vilasita, a 146-residence development in the Tatali Precinct at Zimbali Lakes on the North Coast, on Saturday. Residences will be priced from R2.95 million to R55 million, with construction scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2027 and completion planned for the end of 2028.

The development will include one-bedroom residences through to four-bedroom penthouses, with the flagship four-bedroom residence priced at R55 million. Residences will offer lake, garden or ocean views, and the penthouses are planned to include private pools and rooftop gardens. Vilasita will face a 10-hectare lake that is under construction and is expected to accommodate non-motorised water sports, while a promenade will link the development to Zimbali Square and the Beach Club.

Neil Cocker, vice-president of operations at Zimbali Lakes, said Vilasita, together with developments already completed at Zimbali Lakes, would help make the precinct a catalyst for KwaZulu-Natal's North Coast and “set the benchmark for high-end real estate, not only in KwaZulu-Natal but across South Africa”.

IFAHR has been invested in Zimbali for more than two decades. About R250 million was invested in the Ernie Els Signature Course and Zimbali Lakes Clubhouse, alongside an infrastructure programme worth just under R1.3 billion, and earthworks and retaining structures for the Ernie Els Suites, Avanti Residences and retail centre have been completed, with construction there due to start in January 2027 and finish in mid-2028.

Pam Golding Properties chief executive Dr Andrew Golding said in September that South Africa's residential market continues to show resilience, with national house-price growth accelerating and demand from first-time and higher-value buyers supporting sales activity. “We continue to see high take-up at the top end of the market, above R20m and beyond, from both South African and international buyers,” he said, citing Cape Town and the Cape Winelands, Johannesburg, and prime coastal markets in the Eastern Cape, the Garden Route and KwaZulu-Natal.