Property Newsletter | April 2024

The Rands and sense of SA’s property market

How affordable is Affordable?

With current economic conditions, including the cost of living, slow economic growth and stagnant income, affordability is key when it comes to South Africans having a fighting chance at home ownership. In this edition of the newsletter, we look at (among other things) just how affordable the Affordable property market is in South Africa right now. Our latest insights uncover the property price bands, average purchase price, the state of Affordable property, and the demographics of those who are buying property in this segment. We also look at the state of property transaction volumes in the Northern Cape as well as how far South Africans ventured from their homes during this year's Easter holidays.

Making Affordable property attractive to young buyers

Buyers aged under 30 make up only a fraction of the Affordable property market. This may be due, in part, to the fact that the average Affordable property developments in South Africa are aging. But while only 10% of developments within this segment are less than 10 years old, there are developers aiming to address this and give young people access to attractive affordable housing.

Transaction volumes head south in the Northern Cape

The Northern Cape accounted for just 2 300 property transactions in 2023. This, according to the latest data, represents R1.7 billion in transaction value (approximately R500 million less than 2021 transactions).

South Africans stayed close to home this Easter

According to the latest data, 83% of South Africans who travelled during the Easter holidays this year did so within their home province despite travelling more than a combined 2.3 billion kilometres between Thursday 28 March to Monday, 01 April -- the highest number recorded in six years of tracking data.

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