Twenty years ago Greyton was a little "dorp" ( town ) at the end of the dirt road beyond the historic village of Genadenal. People came to Greyton to get away from the city life. They certainly didn't come for Greyton amenities. There was very limited access to water and electricity and the roads were only partially tarred.
Back then the village was inhabited, predominantly, by people who worked the land and farmers children being schooled and boarded, with a few holiday homes, again mainly farmers' homes. A series of pumpkin fields were in evidence along with a variety of other rural activities; herding goats and cattle as well as fruit and vegetable growing.
Change began when Capetonians began to buy up property cheaply and Greyton South Africa gradually started to become fashionable. As people from the city moved in so they began to renovate the houses and create alternative employment in building and construction. Steets were renamed, gardens began to replace the veggie patches, erven were developed and more houses were built. The main entry road was tarred and water and electricity was supplied to most of the village.
Over the years Greyton has expanded further. The houses are much larger; there are schools, a garage, even a retirement village and many more people. Now the residents are from home and abroad. There are "weekenders", "swallows" and "permanent" residents. Some commute to Cape Town, others operate businesses from home, some are retired, a number are in the service industry and of course building and related industries continue to thrive.
Don't let this put you off though. A strong and committed band of Greytonians have managed, over the years, to build a delightful village. It is quite different to the village it was twenty five years ago. Most would say it is much better.
Greyton now has approximately 620 plots plus the retirement village and a population of ± 2 500. it is still small and its exclusivity is due largely to its size and the limitations on expansion. Greyton is surrounded by the Nature Reserve, and mountains and rivers, thus limiting the amount of land available for building development.
Greyton property, over the years, has steadily increased in price. Twenty five years ago, four plots each measuring 3 666m² with a small ramshackle house was bought for R14 000 (rands). Four years ago, two of those plots were sold for R890 000 (rands), then it was a bargain. Last month, a plot of 3 800m² was sold for R1 600 000 (rands).
On average, house and land prices have been increasing at 20 - 25% per annum over the past eight years. We are probably at a four year peak at the moment and with local issues such as the credit act and increasing bond rates combined with an uneasy international market, we have seen a slow down in sales over the last few months. However, the market in Greyton is certainly not as depressed as we are led to believe other areas are.
Over the four months to November 2007 sixty transactions in Greyton Property for sale in South Africa were registered at the Deeds Office. These include two consolidations. Of the remaining 58, four were low cost housing in Heuwelkroon; two were deceased estates with no values credited. There were 29 houses sold at a total cost of R47 460 000 (rands), giving an average selling price of R1 636 550 (rands). At the upper end of this range the most expensive house sold was R3 395 000 (rands) and at the lower end R830 000 (rands).
Greyton property is still a good investment. The investment in lifestyle - immeasurable.
