Kynsna’s residential property market tells a clear story of demand for lifestyle estates and secure living, says Lightstone, with property values and transaction patterns reflecting the ongoing shift towards quality-of-life destinations.

With 76 000 residents, the town’s residential property market is well known for its disproportionately high concentration of residential estates and premium priced properties, a well as rising average property prices.

There are approximately 13 200 properties registered at the Deeds Office in Knysna, with 4 000 of the properties valued at under R500 000.

Focusing on properties valued above R500 000, which include approximately 3 600 estate units, 4 400 freehold properties, and 1 200 sectional title units outside of estates, nearly 30% of all the properties are valued at more than R5 million – a higher than usual proportion with many found in estates including Thesen Island, Pezula Private Estate, Belvidere Estate, and Pezula Golf Estates.

Properties valued at more than R5 million can also be found in suburbs including Leisure Isle, The Heads, Noetzie, and Belvidere.

According to Lightstone, properties in Knysna sell relative easily with sales prices achieved, as a proportion of the asking price, are high, with the average prices paid having ramped up significantly between 2019 and 2025.

“After a challenging period during Covid, Knysna has rebounded impressively. Homes are selling faster, buyers are paying closer to asking prices, and average sales values are once again climbing – all signs of a robust and desirable market,” says Hayley Ivins-Downes, Lightstone Managing Executive Real Estate and Director Prop Data.

Median days on the market spiked during the pandemic with the proportion of the asking price achieved having fallen to a seven-year low of 91%. In 2022, the median days on the market was under 60, with the proportion of asking price achieved having risen to just below 95% – a seven-year high.

The average sales price of property in Knysna has been rising steadily since 2019 when it was R2.3 million, reaching R3.9 million in 2025. The graph below shows that the average sales price dipped slightly in 2024 but rose again in 2025.

Knysna Central (115 sales at an average sales value of R1.65 million) and Pezula Golf Estate (111 sales at an average sales value of R4.5 million) recorded the highest transaction volumes in 2024 and 2025.

Other high value suburbs with reasonable volumes include The Heads (R10.2 million), Belvidere (R6.8 million), Leisure Isle (R6.4 million), Belvidere Estate (R5.2 million), Eastford (R4.9 million), Eastford Downs (R4.2 million), Heuwelkruin (R4 million), Westford Bridge (R3.7 million), Welbedacht (R3.5 million), and Paradies (R3.3 million).

Knysna has nearly three times the registered properties as nearby Plettenberg Bay where the proportion of premium valued properties is higher – just over 56% (5 175) of properties in Knysna are valued at more than R3 million compared to 75% in Plettenberg Bay, with 292 (3.2%) valued at more than R10 million when compared to Plettenberg Bay’s 420 properties (7%) valued at more than R10 million. Just as both have a higher proportion of highly valued properties, their residential property ownership is dominated by people over the age of 50-years old.

38% of natural persons have bought in the last five years, while 24% bought 15 years or more ago. About one in five Knysna homeowners with properties valued above R500 000 have lived in the town for more than 20 years.

One out of every two natural persons or couples who own property in Knysna also own another property elsewhere, and one out of two of the 50% who own elsewhere do so in the Western Cape.