Alongside the Western Cape’s dominance of sales value and high-value residential property transactions, is the region’s farmland sector. This province accounts for over half of SA’s agricultural exports (Q1 2025), and while farmland purchases in the region are largely bought by farmers, two new and important buyer demographics are emerging alongside.
The first is the growth in interest in farmland by international buyers who avail of the value-for-money that their foreign currency provides, and which, as revealed by Carte Blanche in an interview with Dries Barnard Properties, (www.driesbarnardproperties.com/) showed capital growth on farm prices in the 60km radius of Montagu, as more than 20% per annum.
The second trend relates to those wanting to escape from urban stress, to reconnect with nature, and to become self-sufficient from a food security perspective. This is a lifestyle choice that provides a sense of purpose, but without knowledge of farming, buyers can often become intimidated, which is why a real estate business, such as Dries Barnard Properties, offers a unique proposition.
Dries Barnard, based in the Western Cape, is not solely an estate agent specialising in farmland sales; he is also an active farmer with a strong focus on self-sufficient farming across a wide range of activities, including animal husbandry of sheep, cattle, goats, game, and horses; trees such as fruit, nuts, olives, cash crops, and lucerne; and tourism and lifestyle farming, including organic and water-saving practices, low-pressure water-saving irrigation, and off-grid living.
It is this knowledge and experience that enables Dries and his four-member team to extend their farmland sales offerings into real estate after-sales as a farming consultancy, servicing more than 100 km across the areas of Montagu, Bonnievale, Swellendam, Barrydale, Robertson, Ladismith, and Worcester. It is also a qualified auctioneering business.
In March 2026, Dries Barnard Properties celebrates its 20th anniversary, although Dries himself qualified through the Estate Agents Exam in 1989. He explains that at the time he wanted the qualification for his own benefit. “I wanted to buy and sell different properties for personal use after migrating from the Free State to the Western Cape.”
It was in 1994 that Dries bought a small, run-down farm of 300 acres in the Ouberg, some 15 km from Montagu. This was largely driven by the need to cut down on commuting from his Gordon’s Bay office, where he ran a successful telecommunications business. Some six years later a new mindset emerged, one that focused on a full farming lifestyle away from the “hustle and bustle", sacrificing magnificent ocean views for the “peace and tranquility of the Klein Karoo, where instead we have dramatic mountain views and clear starlit nights,” he says.
The new water-rich commercial farm purchase was double the size (1,200-hectares) of Dries’ first farm which, after Dries’ rejuvenation, sold for more than double the price he originally paid, proving just how much capital growth can be realised if farms are run efficiently and effectively. This was also a complete lifestyle change and deep commitment for Dries and his family, but was to prove the best business and life-changing decision he ever made. This was even more evident when he immersed himself in new and better ways to farm.
Dries has embraced organic farming with fervour: no poisons nor chemicals, instead using compost and earthworms. He is heavily focused on the water crisis in the dry Karoo, using cost-effective gravity-fed irrigation methods that avoid waste. This aspect has earned him a reputation for having ‘brakwater in my veins”, he says jokingly. Further is his embrace of alternative energy resources such as solar.
Holistic approach
Taking a holistic approach to farming has translated into Dries being the “go-to” in the region for not just established farms and farmers, but also new entrants to farming, or those who, like Dries’ own journey, want a lifestyle change. Such buyers are handheld by Dries Barnard Properties from making the best farmland purchase right through to how to drill boreholes, erect fencing, undertake earthmoving, etc., and the best local suppliers of these services.
“The more experience a buyer has at farming the better, but I place having a drive and zest for life above that. Anyone who is keen to learn can be taught to farm, but you can’t teach a person to have a positive attitude, and if you aren’t prepared to work hard, you will fail.”
Sourcing farmland buyers, says Dries, is actually not as big a challenge as sourcing sellers. “The more farms there are available for sale, the more buyers emerge. Dries Barnard Properties has been so successful that we are known for selling more farms than any other estate agent in the region, at least one a month in a good year, and as a successful ‘Magnab’ seller.”
A Magnab is a term to describe the sale of three neighbouring farms to different purchasers, something Dries Barnard Properties has achieved twice. This is quite an accolade, especially for Dries, who has had to scale down dramatically on his own farming efforts to spend more time helping and guiding young and upcoming farmers to be successful.
“I am heavily focused on helping farmers to understand the importance of protecting the land for generations to come,” says Dries. “And where better to do this than in a region fed by natural springs, waterfalls, mountains, indigenous fynbos, proteas and aloes, and the cry of fish eagles across secluded valleys? It’s all about love, of which I have an abundance: love for the land, love for the people, and a deep, enduring love for life.”
