Goodbye Cape Town – South Africa’s new affordable semigration hotspot

South Africans are leaving the city behind for a better lifestyle, and the Karoo offers all of the upsides of semigration at a fraction of Cape Town’s prices.

Pam Golding Properties’ area principal in the Karoo, Wayne Rubidge, said the charm of picturesque Karoo towns, with their slower pace, sense of community, quaint architecture and historic buildings, continues to draw home buyers escaping bustling city life.

These towns also feature expansive, open spaces, which further adds to the appeal.

“It’s a wonderland for hikers, runners, birders, golfers, bowlers, cyclists, off-roadsters, crafters, astronomers, geologists, botanists and even fishers,” Rubidge said.

“In the Karoo, boerewors and biltong making count as recreational pursuits too, as does the reviving viticulture and culinary trends.”

“Coupled with this, a rapidly improving connectivity has opened up some beautiful, smaller Karoo towns for more work-at-home entrepreneurs.”

For years, South Africans have been leaving the city behind in search of a better, slower lifestyle.

While Cape Town has typically been the centre of the semigration boom, other South African towns offer similar lifestyle perks for a fraction of the cost.

“In our experience, there is an ongoing, general move away from large urban areas by a certain market segment due to congestion and high prices,” Rubidge said.

“Increasingly, having a Karoo property is an alternative to owning a beach property for getaways, while from a lifestyle perspective, others are investing in a Karoo semi-retirement property.”

“A couple of decades ago, more remote towns held less appeal, but now the market is reacting far more positively to the offering of clean, safe, rural living.”

For those from further afield, Rubidge said there is a choice to be made when considering relocating to the Karoo – either a large town or a small town.

Choosing a town

For every larger town in the Karoo, there are three to five smaller towns, but regardless of size, they all offer the attraction of freehold homes, a sense of security and wide, open spaces, Rubidge explained.

“Large Karoo towns – with more houses and property options, a broader range of services and greater infrastructure, attract more people,” he said.

“However, the majority of Karoo towns are in the small category, being the quaint, classical Karoo towns and villages.”

“Three examples of good-sized, principal towns which serve local residents and nearby smaller towns are Beaufort West in the Western Cape – the ‘capital’ of the Western Cape’s Karoo, and similarly in the Eastern Cape region, Graaff-Reinet and Cradock.”

“With good schools, large commercial centres, regional local government centres and good medical facilities, each town is within three hours of the coast and larger centres such as George and Gqeberha.”

In addition, all three towns have their own airstrips, and each town is also surrounded by or adjacent to National Parks, which boosts the economy and affords access to the Karoo’s natural beauty.

Beaufort West in the Central Karoo has the massive Karoo National Park on its doorstep, which has high-quality tourism and events infrastructure.

Graaff-Reinet is surrounded by the scenic Camdeboo National Park, and Cradock, situated in the upper valley of the Great Fish River, has the equally scenic Mountain Zebra National Park.

Cradock is also renowned for the Fish River Canoe Marathon, which has developed into one of South Africa’s prime river races.

“Importantly, these three locations also have national roads which go through the towns, not bypassing them. Beaufort-West has the N1 and N12, Graaff-Reinet the N9 and Cradock the N10,” Rubidge said.

“They are also connected with and serve as hubs for their nearby smaller towns and villages, mostly by tar and often with scenic, less-travelled alternatives popular among locals and those travelling through the Karoo.”

Farming is the backbone of these towns and provides jobs, business opportunities, and leisure activities like farm stays.

“The high-quality produce that originates in the Karoo, such as wool, mohair, Karoo lamb and venison, plays an important role in the local economy, while restaurants and accommodation abound.”

Goodbye Cape Town

Rubidge explained that popular price ranges for those looking to relocate to the Karoo range from R1.2 million to around R2.5 million.

“However, for those seeking more affordably priced homes, a two to three-bedroom, freestanding house on a reasonably sized erf is generally below R900,000,” he said.

“Meanwhile, in the adjacent smaller towns, R1 million or R1.2 million will acquire the more premium properties.”

According to Lightstone statistics measured from April 2024 to March 2025, a fifth of recent home buyers in Beaufort West were young adults, while Graaff-Reinet and Cradock attract more retirees.

In Beaufort West, 68% of homeowners have owned their houses for 11 or more years, while in Graaff-Reinet, this figure is 73%, and in Cradock, it is 90%.

Pam Golding Properties’ Beaufort West area specialist, Ian Taylor, explained that being in the Western Cape, Beaufort West is the gateway to the Karoo from Cape Town.

“Ten years ago, I was working with sellers who were moving to the coast. Now I’m selling properties to people who are leaving the coast and relocating here.”

“For home buyers, the town offers a diverse selection of locations, including those with scenic mountain views or residences close to good schools or business areas.”

Taylor said Beaufort West is large, catering to the huge demand for houses under R850,000 as well as larger, well-priced homes in the R1.2 million and R1.6 million price ranges.

“Like the farming and tourism sectors, the N1 plays a big role in the economy of the town, and with its luxurious guest houses and farm stays, occupancies are always high,” he said.

“Farms are similarly diverse, from irrigation to livestock, game and leisure farms.”

Just a few hours from Cape Town and the Garden Route, the town is set to boom as a regional commercial hub, attracting home buyers, entrepreneurs, and investors with its mix of commercial farms, renewable energy projects, and other growing opportunities.

“Cradock is a major transportation hub approximately 230km inland from Gqeberha on the N10, and like Beaufort West, the national road goes through the town, along with the rail lines connecting Coega and the Cape to inland,” Rubidge said.

Most buyers acquiring property in Cradock are relocating for work purposes, mainly from elsewhere in the Eastern Cape.

With a mix of modern and Karoo homes, the popular price range is R900,000 to R1.4 million for a three-bedroom family house.

“The fourth-oldest town in South Africa, Graaff-Reinet, or ‘Gem of the Karoo’ as it is called, is well known for its attractive and well-preserved historic homes and buildings,” Rubidge added.

“The price range of homes is similar to the above two towns. However, Graaff-Reinet has a higher top-end with more luxurious houses.”

Graaff-Reinet, along with Prince Albert, is one of the most desirable towns in the Karoo and is attracting lifestyle buyers and commanding higher property prices, Rubidge said.

It’s become a top destination thanks to its strong tourism sector and growing lifestyle offerings, such as wellness services, luxury shops, new restaurants, and a Fossil Centre.

“Here we see city escapees as well as coastal buyers either returning or relocating to the Karoo for the first time, having found other parts of the Cape too congested.”

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Homes in the Karoo