Garden Route a hidden treasure for foreign investors

While most foreign property buyers are still focusing on Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard and Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, the Garden Route is a ‘treasure trove’ that is only slowly being discovered by the more adventurous.

This four bedroom house in West Bank, Oudtshoorn, has four bathrooms, two reception rooms, a study and built-in braai. It is selling for R2.5 million - click here to view.
This is according to Antoinette du Toit, co-owner of the Chas Everitt international franchises in George and Oudtshoorn, who says George, for example, offers foreign buyers easy access via its own international airport, top class shopping, entertainment and medical facilities, and several of South Africa’s finest golf courses.

“We have The Links at the Fancourt Hotel and Golf Estate, which was designed by Gary Player and has been voted one of the world’s 100 greatest golf courses, as well as the Ernie Els signature course at the Oubaai Golf Estate, and five more top-rated courses in the immediate area, which already attracts many overseas ‘golf tourists’ every year.”

In addition, she says gated estates like Kingswood and the Kraaibosch Country Estate offer a luxury lock-up and go lifestyle which perfectly suits the needs of foreign ‘swallows’, who want to come to SA for six months of the year to escape the northern winters.

“And we are proud of the exceptional architecture on offer in estates like Fancourt, where there are homes on sale at prices from R13 million to R42 million.”

This property in Oubaai, George, offers four bedrooms, four bathrooms, four reception rooms, a study and patio. It is priced at R6.05 million - click here to view.
Meanwhile, Du Toit says the peaceful rural town of Oudtshoorn, has already started attracting international buyers from Germany, Belgium and England who are often astonished at how much home they can acquire for R1 million to R1.5 million.

“We find that Europeans, especially, love the wide-open spaces they can enjoy all along the Garden Route, as well as the mild climate, spectacular scenery and real value for money, especially for those who are buying in euros, dollars or pounds.

“For example, we are currently marketing a four bedroom home in the Oubaai Golf Estate that offers both sea and golf course views for just over R6 million, which equates to just about US$500 000 or GBP300 000. You certainly could not buy the equivalent anywhere in Europe for that price,” she says.

Du Toit says they are also currently marketing a nine bedroom, four-star guesthouse in Oudtshoorn that would be a great business proposition for a foreign buyer at R7.5 million, or around US$625 000 or GBP375 000.