Dec
2020
Beaufort West was the first town to be established in the Great Karoo, an arid agricultural and mining region and is also considered the Capital of the Karoo. The town was founded in 1818.
At its inception, the town was only an agricultural town with Saxon Merino sheep that were introduced by the Anglo-Italian John Molten whom was also the founder of the town’s first bank in 1854.
The lifestyle in the town is sedate and tranquil apart from being on the main route between Cape Town and Johannesburg. Today Beaufort West is the largest town in the Great Karoo.
Property in Beaufort West consists of large Karoo farms, residential property, and naturally commercial property.
Property values range from the R 700 mark to around R 1.5 mil and then farms with a vast range of pricing structure. The architecture is as varied and the history of the progression of the town’s property market is recorded in its architecture with some properties having been declared national historical museums.
The other source of income which is equally critical to the sustainability of the town is the mining of uranium. Not to worry, this form of uranium is non-lethal as it has not yet been enriched into the U-235 radioactive isotope and the by-product of uranium mining “yellowcake”.
But even considering the fact that the town is a large mining community the lifestyle manages to remain laid back and tranquil.
The town possess good investment prospects for investors in the tourism and catering industries as this is a base from where tourists explore and venture into the unspoilt Great Karoo, experiencing all the natural wonders making it the perfect lodge and guest house property investment.
Being an established town means there are schools catering for education. Here is a list of some of the schools; John D Crawford Primary School, Sentraal High School, Beaufort West Secondary School and Bastiaanse Secondary School.
