The small town in South Africa where millionaires are rushing to live
The Garden Route coastal town of Plettenberg Bay experienced a boom in 2025, with property sales breaking records and topping R2.8 billion.
The town recorded 682 sales during the year, averaging around R4.7 million per property. The highest value sale was a luxury villa on Beach Head, which sold for R36 million.
According to property group Seeff, the town continues to see some of the highest values paid in the country outside of the Cape Town areas.
Overall, Lightstone ranks the town as home to the highest percentage of high-value properties, with nearly 40% of all properties valued at over R3 million.
The boom has been driven by factors such as sustained lifestyle migration, retirement, remote working, and holiday home investments, which have propelled the market surge over the past five years.
“This is the highest in volume and value since the 2021/2 boom period, up by about 33% in volume and 27% in value,” the group said.
The overall average transaction price increased by about 9.3% to R4.7 million, driven by a higher volume of sales over the R5 million.
There were also a notable number of sales over R10 million and R20 million, Seeff said.
As has been a notable trend across South Africa, especially in urban hubs, estates have seen tremendous growth and accounted for about 39% of all high-value transactions in 2025.
This is followed by freehold properties at 38% and sectional titles at 23%.
Freehold estate properties transacted at R5.2 million on average, and sectional titles in estates at R3.2 million.
Freehold properties outside of estates averaged at R5.9 million (R9.1 million for high-end properties), slightly higher than estates, due to high-value sales over R15 million pushing up the average, Seeff said.
Sectional title property transacted at around R3.1 million on average.
“While the most active price band remains between R2 million and R4 million, there has been a significant shift towards the luxury segment in recent years, especially in the estates and for waterfront properties,” the realtor said.
Transactions over R5 million increased to just over 20% of the market, predominantly within the estates. Transactions over R10 million make up about 7% of all transactions for the year.
Property prices have doubled
Plettenberg Bay is one of the top luxury destinations on the Garden Route for property buyers and investors. It is also home to many of South Africa’s millionaires.
According to the African Wealth Report by Henley & Partners last year, the Garden Route has an estimated 3,200 HNWIs spread across its towns.
High-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are those with a liquid wealth exceeding US$1 million (roughly R18 million).
Beachy Head Drive in Plettenberg Bay is particularly affluent and has been dubbed “Africa’s Millionaire Row.”
The investment case is further supported by excellent price growth, with median property prices doubling over the past decade and rising by a significant 38% in 2024, driven by higher-value sales.
The region has also been boosted by a bumper summer tourism season, with the short-term rentals market booming.
With lower interest rates and a generally more positive outlook for the market, Seeff expects the market to continue to see strong demand amid the general migration to lifestyle areas.
However, while this is a great development for investors, Lightstone Property has noted that this has created a major affordability problem for those who live and work in the town.
Plett is also one of four key property markets along the Garden Route, with other towns also making a big splash in 2025.
George, which is considered the commercial hub of the region, also recorded around R3 billion in transactions for the year ending September 2025.
Average prices in George have risen by more than 30% over the past three years, driven by strong demand, limited supply, and ongoing stock shortages.
Mossel Bay, a top choice for retirees and holiday investors, has seen an influx of buyers driven by lifestyle, safety, and tourism.
Overall transactions for 2025 stood at R2.4 billion for the 12 months to the end of November 2025.
Knysna is also among the high-demand areas on the route, where transactions over the 12 months to the end of November totalled R2.2 billion, with an average transaction price of R3.7 million.
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