The small town voted the best in South Africa

Bloemhof in the North West was recently crowned South Africa’s Town of the Year for 2025, an achievement that could boost its small property market in the long term.

In the recent 2025 Kwêla Dorp van die Jaar (Town of the Year) competition, Bloemhof came out victorious.

The tranquil North West town on the banks of the Vaal River is roughly 120 km northwest of Johannesburg and beat eight towns to the award.

Rehoboth (Namibia) came in second, and Wilderness (Western Cape) edged Pennington (KwaZulu-Natal), into fourth place.

In no particular order, other finalists included Fauresmith (Free State), Mookgophong/Naboomspruit (Limpopo), Richmond (Northern Cape), Port Alfred (Eastern Cape), and Witrivier (Mpumalanga).

Bloemhof was founded in 1864 during a diamond rush on the farm Klipfontein. The town was named “Bloemhof” (“flower court” or “flower garden”) in recognition of the gardens planted by the farm owner’s daughter.

Today, the town relies on maize and cattle farming and is a popular venue for outdoor activities like hiking, fishing, and water sports.

Third-placed Wilderness and fourth-placed Pennington are both on the coast and popular with holidaymakers, quiet lifestyle enthusiasts, and golfers.

Lightstone reviewed selected property fundamentals of the eight towns in South Africa to assess the degree to which these fundamentals correspond with the ranking of the top three towns in South Africa.

It then reviewed fundamentals more broadly against the other provincial entrants. Rehoboth in Namibia was excluded, since Lightstone does not have data on the town.

Interestingly, Bloemhof came in near the bottom on all the measures evaluated, while towns with strong tourism and retirement sectors did well.

Population income and property values

When looking only at households earning more than R13,000 per month, Bloemhof’s higher-income population is modest, with just 7% earning above R26,000.

In comparison, 85% of households in Wilderness and nearly 100% in Pennington earn more than R26,000. Both Pennington and Wilderness also have a significant proportion of their population earning more than R58,000 a month.

However, when individuals with average household incomes below R13,000 are included, Bloemhof and Port Alfred are way ahead of the other towns in terms of population size.

This is because they include townships within their municipal boundaries – Boitemulong in Bloemhof and Nkwenswezi in Port Alfred.

When looking at property values, Lightstone Property managing executive Hayley Ivins-Downes explained that Bloemhof’s total property value makes up only 3% of the eight South African towns compared, ranking sixth overall.

“Wilderness is second overall at 29% and Pennington fourth at 10%. Port Alfred, at 31%, is the town with the highest combined property value and Witrivier is third in value overall at 19%.”

“The top four towns in terms of value account for 81%, and all have tourism as a major economic contributor.”

Most homes in Bloemhof are valued at less than R500,000, while in Pennington and Wilderness the reverse is true. Port Alfred is evenly split between above and below R500,000.

Transaction values

Transaction values in Wilderness are significantly higher than the other seven towns, and the gap has widened since 2021. This is likely due to semigration in the Covid-19 and post-pandemic years, which drove up prices.

“We’re seeing a clear split between value and volume,” said Ivins-Downes. “Pennington and Witrivier are neck-and-neck on transaction values, but Port Alfred leads decisively on volumes, with Witrivier and Wilderness following.”

“Notably, 2025 marks Wilderness’s first value dip since 2017, while values are ticking up in Witrivier, Pennington, Port Alfred and even Richmond. Bloemhof remains sixth on both value and volume, with fewer than 50 sales a year.”

Pennington vies with Witrivier for second place in the transaction value table, while Bloemhof is just above Richmond and Fauresmith in sixth place.

For the first time since 2017, transaction values dipped in 2025 in Wilderness, while they are rising in Witrivier, Pennington, Port Alfred and Richmond.

However, when it comes to volumes, Lightstone found that Port Alfred dominates, followed by Witrivier and Wilderness.

Again, Bloemhof came in sixth place, with fewer than 50 houses changing owners each year. Only Richmond and Fauresmith record less volume activity.

As expected, given the number of properties and property values, Bloemhof’s total bond value is significantly less than the other two South African-placed towns and only ahead of Fauresmith and Richmond.

The average bond value in Bloemhof is just under R380,000, a quarter of the average bond value of R1.7 million in Wilderness, significantly higher than all the other towns.

Pennington’s average bond value is next at R916,000, followed by Port Alfred, at R914,000, and Witrivier at R820,000.

Lightone also revealed that Standard Bank and Absa are the two largest lenders in Bloemhof, followed by FirstRand.