Foreign appetite for SA residential properties nudges upwards

Foreigners made up just under 3% (7 776) of the 267 856 residential property purchases registered at the Deeds Office in 2022, up from 2% (4 603) in 2019 – with 3 952 (51%) of those purchases in the R1m-R3m price band.

Properties purchased by foreigners vs total residential property sales

Foreign purchase bands

Of the 7 776 sales to foreigners in 2022, 837 (11%) were valued at less than R500k, 1 939 (25%) were valued at between R500k-R1m, with 3 952 (51%) valued at between R1m-R3m making up the largest single category. There were 1 048 (13%) sales above R3m in value.

Foreign purchase bands: 2019 - August 2023

While Gauteng is the preferred choice for foreigners who purchase residential property (see graph: Where are foreigners buying), followed by the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, most upper value band purchases take place in the Western Cape, and this is an accelerating trend (as the graph Upper value purchases by foreign buyers below shows). On the other hand, upper value purchases by foreigners in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape is on the decline while KwaZulu-Natal is more or less consistent.

Volume of foreign purchases by province

Upper value purchases by foreign buyers

Where are foreigners buying?

Foreigners buy more Sectional Title (35%) and Estate (20%) properties than Freehold (45%), indicative perhaps of a preference for secure, lock-up-and-go properties.

Property type bought by foreign buyers