 That's Afternoon Express live on ESABC3. Yes, it's time for Winner Home on Afternoon Express, the show where three talented young design contestants turn three empty apartments into dream homes at the Polar Village at Valdivia State in the Cape Winelands. And the best part is that you, the viewer, stand at chance of winning one of the completed apartments valued at over three million rand. This week, we're all about inspiring our design contestants and you, the viewer. And today, we draw that inspiration from one of our very own Winner Home churches. Take a look. With Winner Home now in full swing right here on Afternoon Express, we are transforming ourselves into experts in all things estate living, property, decor and owning a home. Today in the loft, we have Simon Bray, CEO of Private Property and we focus on estate living and Paol as a neighbourhood. And because we're taking a look at spare rooms this week on Winner Home, we ask how this comes into play when buying a home. Simon, welcome back to our loft. Thanks, Danela. Good to be here. It's a very exciting time. Our designers are, I think, stressed out of their minds and are very excited about the whole move towards, you know, building these incredible, incredible homes. But some people might say that estate living is very intimidating. Some people might find it incredibly exciting. What is the purpose of estate living and is it something that is of value? Yeah, I think estate living is certainly the new normal in South Africa's property market. Most of the people in the market for a home, particularly your families and your retirees, are looking at estates. We see them going nuts on the private property website on a daily basis. The demand is certainly there from the market perspective. And I think it's obvious, you know, the value inside of an estate is this idea of control, this idea of privacy, this idea of safety and security. I think those are the core benefits for people. And when you're looking to purchase a home and you're looking for a safe sanctuary for your family, those are the things that people think of first. So, yeah, certainly, estates are a big part of the South African property market. Well, thank goodness we were on top of the ball and managed to find a home at the beautiful Polo estate of Valdivy, which is situated just kind of outside of Polo, and it's a beautiful space to be. What are some of the benefits of living in an area like Polo? I mean, you mentioned the Valdivy estate. It's incredible. The amenities that they've got inside that estate are another draw card, equestrian facilities and swimming pools and golf courses. And it really is a truly magical place for somebody to live and perhaps spend their weekends. But Polo as a neighbourhood is a growing part of South Africa. You know, one of these old towns that's seeing a revival and seeing a change, culinary capital of South Africa, I was lucky enough to ride a couple of stages in the Cape Epic recently and you go through that Weinlands area and it's truly magnificent scenery. The restaurants are incredible. The lifestyle opportunities out there amongst the mountains are something quite special. Yeah, you mentioned quite a lot about family I saw and all the different amenities that are around that. And speaking, obviously, this week about that guest bedroom, property is getting really expensive and people are really trying to think wisely about when to buy property and where to buy it. How do we go about thinking about how many rooms to buy and whether that guest bedroom is actually an important thing to look into, especially if you're moving into an estate when family do want to come and visit you and you've got such a beautiful surrounding, you want people to come and experience it with you. Yeah, I think that's exactly right. You know, this year, people are going to want to come to your beautiful new apartment in Valdivy. It's going to be a destination for your friends and your family to come and visit you. So a guest bedroom, a spare bedroom is a really important part of this year's show. But when it comes to adding value to a property, the bedroom counts as probably the biggest indicator of value. If you've got two identical houses, they're both in the same area with the same floor size and one's a two-bed and one's a three-bed, the value of the three-bed is certainly going to be more. So it's an important room to add into any house. But in this case, it's going to have to be a multi-functional space. It's going to have to be a Swiss army knife of rooms. Of bedrooms. Yeah, a part office, part playroom, part bedroom. You know, it's going to have to be a very interesting design challenge. There must be many reasons why people have a spare bedroom or why people live in an area like that because there's so much surrounding you. I mean, you're either there for work or you're there to move in with your family. You might even be there to retire. But let's talk more about the surrounds because you're really close to something like Stelenbosch University. You're not too far away. You're around the corner from Cape Town itself. You've got beautiful outdoors that are available to you. Does all of that affect the price of the property? Absolutely. I think, Paul is one of these emerging towns that's just outside of a centre that's getting more and more appeal for people that want to prioritise living over work. So, you know, you're still going to be working nearby. Perhaps you're commuting to Cape Town four of the days of the week and living in Paul the rest of the time. And I think that's becoming more and more popular across South Africans as... Yeah, it's away but not away at the same time. And because that's the case, I think that countryside living, that living out there in nature is becoming more and more valuable, and particularly when you can package it in such a beautiful estate like Valdivir. And it's also so close to, like you said, something like Stelenbosch. I mean, there's a huge sort of work community that's also there too. So, it is away but not away, and it's beautiful, and it's home away from home in so many ways. But you can also make it a new spot for yourself. 100%. I mean, you talk about Stelenbosch. You know, a lot of people will think of Cape Town and its proximity when they think of Paul. Yes. Yeah. But Stelenbosch has got 30-odd percent of the JSC-listed companies in South Africa. So, you're talking about a big opportunity for people living in Stelenbosch, working in Stelenbosch, to consider Paul as a neighbourhood. Sure. It's such a beautiful spot. I'd love to do that. So, what are some of the benefits of maybe city living versus, like, sort of out-of-nature living? They're self-evident. I mean, you just have to look at the beautiful scenery, the opportunities for your kids or for you as you, you know, get older and life to enjoy what nature's got to offer. I think South Africans love to get outside. Yes. And this is a special type of lifestyle opportunity. And we're seeing that become more and more popular amongst South Africans, and we see the demand for places like Veldervie on the website getting higher and higher each year. The Western Cape is really lucky to have a lot of that sort of beauty in terms of nature. So, it's exciting to see that that community is also starting to grow in the Paul area. So, thank you so much for all the good advice. It's always good to have you. No, good. I'm looking forward to the rest of the show. I can tell you we're as excited as you are. So, now, remember that on this season of Winner Home, you stand a chance of winning one of the three apartments completed by our design contestants on the beautiful Veldervie estate. All you have to do is log on to privateproperty.co.za for more information on how to enter. Now, talking of that beautiful Veldervie, recently, Danilo visited the estate when our friends over at S.A.B.C.2 hosted a truly magical event. He even bumped into one of our guests for today, Luria and Nokia. Take a look. Veldervie set the scene for a two-of-a-kind experience by S.A.B.C.2, where the channel celebrated new seasons of some of their most popular shows with various media partners. I love a good party, and so, when I heard that our family at S.A.B.C.2 were hosting an event of one of the most beautiful venues in the country, I had to pop in and see what the excitement was about, bearing in mind that Veldervie is about to become my new second home when it comes to Winner Home, season three, launching on Afternoon Express. So, I'm standing by with Sun Dealer, who is in charge of all the PR for S.A.B.C. all over TV channels. So, what exactly is the plan of action for today? Today is really about just reconnecting with all faces and also just teasing what is about to come. Sun Dealer, I have seen drums in one of the corners. Do I get to play drums today? Today you're going to have to play drums. Today is about teaching, learning, educating, informing and entertaining. Well, I can't wait to enjoy the rest of that. I also see that there's cocktail making right on my alley. To give the S.A.B.C.2 talent a chance to enjoy all the fun, Graham and Ewan from Expresso kindly stepped up to fulfill the MC duties. Guests had their pick of fun at one of the four activation stations, art jamming, cake decoration, cocktail making and drumming. Typical men, they don't stop and ask for directions. Do you guys know this is the S.A.B.C.2 event? S.A.B.C.2. What really is it? Are you serious? What are you doing here? What are we doing here? I'm actually a little bit confused, man. No, we are part of one family. We love each other and we're not just talking about the Expresso and the Afternoon Express family, but the S.A.B.C. as a whole. So what is the sort of vibe like that's going on here? What are we here to do? Well, dude, we've got a cocktail station, we've got an art jamming station, we've got African drums going and we are seeing creative expression like I've never seen before with wedding cakes. So we are forcing people to get out of their comfort zone and everyone is embracing it. It's been awesome. Our job is very easy, actually. It's so good to see the S.A.B.C.2 family representing, giving the S.A.B.C.2 family a time to take a break. Let's see what we've got here, Ashwin. I'm gonna have to say to you that your painting looks 50-50. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Yeah, it is kind of. It's kind of. I'm trying to get my inner Picasso art right now. That's what I'm trying to do. So I'm really enjoying today and it's fantastic to see everyone getting together and, you know, just connect. So, yeah, awesome. On that note, I'm going to leave you alone. Bye. Yeah, I see you making something so beautiful here. It's a tree of life. It's a tree of growth I see. Obviously, you've seen a lot of talent in the country. How do you feel now having to be the one trying to be creative? I mean, the last time I did this, I was... 9, 10. You know, so this is really weird for me. But it's so awesome and it's a challenge, though. I won't lie. It's a little difficult. And by the way, I think you might have missed a bit of paint. I don't know whether... Did I miss a spot? Ha ha ha ha ha ha. But look, I'm in a room full of the most incredible talent. I mean, I'm with you. Hello. Would you buy my painting, though? Uh, I'll figure an ad break. He'll buy it. He'll buy it. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Living up to their tagline, You belong, the spirit of the event was creating a sense of community and togetherness among the guests. What does the sort of event mean to you? Have you had lots of fun? I've had so much fun today. Yes, it's been an incredible honour to be part of this day, to be part of the SAVC. My Pasella is cruel. No, it's a... It's a Moimoi Moi TV show and everyone's really enjoying it at the moment. What is your favourite thing about it? Yes, Pasella is the wonderful chance for me to work as an individual up to three, up to the VC. Hectic99 has really progressed and it's really taken our youth from a sort of space where they're falter and unbelonging and a space where they just falter a little bit last and you guys give life every afternoon to young people. What is the S2 sort of platform and being at today meant for someone like you who's a growing entrepreneur? Oh, my word, it has been so amazing. At the end of the day, I think we've just grown from that entertainment space into, like, we want you to be dreamers. We want you to have high hopes and ambitions for yourselves, no matter what kind of circumstances you're coming from. And I mean, that's the story of the presenters ourselves. We're out there trying to do our best. We're out there trying to live our dreams and we're sending that message across. So it's beautiful to be here today, to continue dreaming and seeing other people, other presenters. I can't say that that was very inspiring, but I'm not too sure about your cake abilities. My friend, our cake is so inspirational. You do not understand. We are actually going to start another business after this, a catering business. We're actually going to get our cake on. So we're very excited because one of our awesome, lucky viewers is going to get a win at home here at Vol De Vee. Are you looking forward to having new neighbours? Yeah, I think whoever is going to win it is going to be very happy, very lucky and it really is a dream to be able to live here. We really want to know from you, if you were to set out ground rules, what are those ground rules about living on the Vol De Vee estate that they must know? Like, if they're going to host a party, must they phone you? What are the ground rules? Yeah, yeah. I think, I think, mainly to have a good time. We believe this is one of the most beautiful places in the world and we feel extremely blessed to be able to live here. And just to partake in everything, ride horses, play golf, be outside, climb mountains, ride your bike, swim in the lakes and just partake in all the fun. Well, Good Up FM is all about connecting Cape Town and one of the most important things in the S.A.B.C. is for everybody to feel like a family. So for us to be here while this is happening in Cape Town, it's crucial we have to be here and I'm lucky that I get to be the guidance here for Good Up FM. Great hospitality certainly created some big smiles and a wonderful feeling of belonging to something exciting. We're involved with something so incredible here. Now every weekday we follow our talented design contestants as they turn three empty properties at Valdivia State in the Cape Winelands into dream homes using finishes provided by Caesar Stone and Plaskon. And the best part is that you can enter the grand prize competition on privateproperty.co.za for a chance to win a finished apartment valued at over three million rand. Winner Home is proudly brought to you by Private Property in association with NetBank. We'll be right back.