Wealthy foreigners flocking to buy homes in small South African town voted as the best to live in
Barrydale, a small town in the Western Cape’s Klein Karoo, is attracting growing interest from wealthy international property buyers.
This adds to a broader trend of foreign investors looking beyond South Africa’s major coastal centres for lifestyle properties.
The Western Cape remains the country’s leading destination for international property investment, accounting for more than 40% of high-value non-resident property transactions nationally.
Lightstone data shows that foreign buyers account for 7.8% of property transactions in the province, rising to 11% for homes valued at more than R1 million.
While Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard remains the biggest draw for international buyers, interest is increasingly filtering into smaller towns and rural areas.
Towns including Barrydale, Greyton, Montagu, Prince Albert, Stanford, McGregor, Riebeek Kasteel and Paternoster have attracted buyers looking for homes, cottages, smallholdings and other lifestyle properties.
The trend is particularly evident in Barrydale, where international buyers account for a significant share of property sales.
“In our opinion, international buyers make up 15% of total sales in Barrydale,” Seeff Property Group told BusinessTech.
“Properties that are safe, in other words, no passing through walking trails or close to that, with gardens and beautiful views, are very popular. International buyers are spending between R2.5 to R5 million in Barrydale.”
The spending by foreign buyers reflects the broader premium attached to lifestyle locations in the Western Cape.
Lightstone has found that in key lifestyle areas, properties owned by foreign buyers have valuations that are, on average, 29% to 39% higher than those owned by domestic buyers.
Barrydale’s appeal is linked to its location and natural environment. The town sits between the Overberg and Klein Karoo regions at the northern entrance to the Tradouw Pass towards Swellendam.
The town is surrounded by mountains, indigenous vegetation, vineyards and orchards, while the region is known for its aloes, succulents, and other plants that bring colour to the landscape during the flowering season.
The town also has a culturally diverse population for a community of its size, with English- and Afrikaans-speaking residents alongside a sizeable European expatriate community that includes French, German, Spanish and Italian residents.
Best small town in South Africa
Barrydale’s growing reputation was reinforced in December 2025 when the Daily Maverick named it South Africa’s Small Town of the Year. It achieved a score of 94% after being selected from 2,069 nominations.
The competition assessed towns across seven categories, including cleanliness, municipal performance, community spirit, safety, the natural environment, family friendliness and connectivity.
Judges also considered what the publication called the “M-Factor”, referring to the less tangible qualities that contribute to a town’s character and atmosphere.
Writers visited shortlisted towns before selecting Barrydale as the overall winner.
The town’s history stretches back more than two centuries. Early farmers settled in the fertile valley in search of water and agricultural opportunities.
Barrydale was later named after 19th-century merchant Joseph Barry and developed around agriculture, with vineyards and orchards becoming important parts of the local economy.
The Barrydale Koöperatiewe Wynkelder was established in 1940, and a distillery soon followed, helping to establish the area’s wine and brandy industry.
Joseph Barry Brandy later gained international recognition when it was named the world’s best brandy in 2003.
Barrydale became a municipality in 1921 and today has roughly 4,200 permanent residents. Its combination of small-town character, property prices below those of Cape Town’s prime suburbs, and growing international recognition is helping to drive demand.
The trend also illustrates how foreign property investment in the Western Cape is extending beyond traditional luxury markets.
While suburbs such as Llandudno, Camps Bay and Bakoven continue to attract substantial overseas capital, smaller towns are increasingly benefiting as international buyers seek quieter locations and lifestyle-oriented homes.
Photos of Barrydale
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