Driving through Greenside in Spring, or at any time of the year in fact, is a real treat. If you were looking for a suburb that epitomises the status of Johannesburg as an urban forest then you don’t need to look further than Greenside. The roads are lined with trees, almost without exception and when you drive through the suburb on a hot summer’s day and the sun filters through the canopy, you feel a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
That is not to say that Greenside is far from any facilities that you might need. In fact the main street of Greenside, Gleneagles Road, is one of the hot-spots for dining out in Jozi, with restaurants of every description lining the street. For those that are looking for a more tranquil form of relaxation, the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens and the adjacent parkland is within walking distance (for most of the suburb) and Parkview Golf Course and Pirates Sports Club are also close by. There is also a shopping district in Emmarentia and a shopping centre down the road in Victory Park.
The suburb had quite a strong Jewish community in the past, but with the construction of a mosque across Barry Herztog Ave in Emmarentia there has been an influx of muslim residents to the area creating a more cosmopolitan feel to the suburb.
Because of the suburb’s location, bordering on Barry Hertzog Ave, and in between areas such as Northcliff and Rosebank, it does tend to get a fair amount of through traffic and Barry Hertzog is a main thoroughfare on the way to the CBD so it is a very busy road and most of the houses along the road tend to be used by businesses.
Houses in the suburb tend to be on the large size, justifying the average selling price of over R2 million for the first six months of 2011. This is the highest average sale price for this suburb beating the previous high, set in 2007. There is also a fair mix of older houses as well as rebuilt modern houses across the suburb, with the older (but restored) houses dominating. The suburb is almost entirely made up of freehold properties with just under 6% of the over 1200 units falling into the sectional title category.
The area is seeing a larger percentage of its recent sellers falling into the 65 years and over category, something that is expected in an area characterised by larger houses. The high selling price results in the largest proportion of buyers being in the 36 to 49 year-old category, as this is the age when people are likely looking for family homes and able to move into a more expensive suburb.
In terms of education the suburb has well respected government schools in Greenside Primary and High School, with Parktown Girls and Parkview Primary close by. There is also easy access to a number of established private schools such as De La Salle Holy Cross College and King David’s in Victory Park and McAuley House and the Deutsche Internationale Schule in Milpark.