KNYSNA, South Africa - Knysna’s property market is defying the town’s prolonged municipal instability, with average sales values rising from around R1.97million in 2022 to approximately R2.7million in 2026 year-to-date (about 37%).
Image credit: South African Tourism, “Knysna Waterfront (20481398406)”, CC BY 2.0.
“Knysna isn’t behaving like a normal distressed town,” asserts Paul Stevens, CEO of Just Property. “It’s behaving like a lifestyle-driven, semigration-magnet coastal node - and those markets follow different rules.”
According to Stevens, the town’s resilience is being driven by lifestyle migration, semigration and the growing ability of buyers to self-provision against unreliable municipal services.
“People aren’t overlooking the service issues - they’re planning around them. Living next to a lagoon bordered by forests in a friendly small-town environment is why there’s no shortage of buyers, For them, the lifestyle value of Knysna outweighs the inconvenience of securing their own services like solar, batteries, water storage and gas,” he says.
“Knysna falls into the same psychological category as Hermanus, Plettenberg Bay, St Francis, and Langebaan. These are towns people aspire to live in, and for semigrants - especially remote workers, retirees, and high net worth buyers - the lifestyle value outweighs the municipal risk.”
Municipal collapse does not automatically reduce demand in lifestyle towns
Sales activity at the high end of the market remains particularly strong, he continues, with luxurious homes in estates such as Pezula Golf Estate, Simola, Thesen Island and Belvidere regularly achieving multi-million-rand prices.
Key stats at a glance: According to publicly available deeds office data, annual transactions have risen from 954 sales in 2023 and 964 transactions in 2024 to more than 1 070 sales in 2025, even as water, sewage and governance failures have intensified.
Referencing Just Property’s own market data, Stevens says it indicates a market that’s being driven strongly by later-life movers and retirees.
“Many of our buyers are relocating from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, and many of them are paying cash or putting down hefty deposits.”
Current Knysna property price bands (indicative ranges based on prevailing market pricing), according to Stevens:
- Sectional title units: from about R1.4 million to R3 million
- Freehold erven (vacant stands): typically range from about R850k to R3.8 million, with premium stands priced higher depending on size and location
- Freehold homes: from around R2.5 million to R5 million
- Estate properties: about R5 million to R12 million
- Vacant land (larger parcels / prime sites): anywhere from about R1 million to R4 million+ depending on size, zoning and positioning
“Estates offer stability in a town where the municipality is struggling,” he says. “Buyers see them as controlled environments with reliable governance and better-managed infrastructure, which is a major drawcard for people who want greater predictability and security.”
Building on that point, he advises buyers and landlords to plan with service delivery realities in mind and to budget accordingly for self-sufficiency. “Right now, the market shows no sign of weakening but it’s wise to bear in mind that if bulk municipal infrastructure were to fail completely, property values could eventually come under pressure.”
Looking ahead, Stevens believes that the early momentum in 2026 suggests Knysna’s market still has room to run. “As long as lifestyle demand remains strong and households continue to invest in private back-up infrastructure, buyers will keep pricing Knysna as a premium coastal destination, not a town in decline.”
Methodology note: Figures referenced are based on publicly available deeds office data and Just Property’s internal market activity. “Average sales values” refer to average recorded sale prices for the periods stated (2022 to 2026 year-to-date).
