Time on the market rises

It takes longer to sell a house in South Africa’s big five metros than it did 10 years ago – but it’s quickest in Cape Town and slowest in Johannesburg.

Lightstone has evaluated data from Estate Agents and found that the results show a steady increase in the time a property is on the market from 2014.

Overall, the average number of days on the market has risen from 69 in 2015 to 92 in 2024.

Average number of days on market

When it comes to the big five metros, sellers in the City of Johannesburg need nearly twice the patience they had in 2014 when it took around 57 days to sell a house. In 2024, they need to anticipate around 103 days.

Time on market by municipality

While Johannesburg struggles, Cape Town does best, as the graph above demonstrates with the gap between the two widening as the years progress.

Time on the market in Cape Town has risen from 54 days in 2014 to 75 in 2024, but it is still the lowest by some distance of the big five metros. Data currently suggests a house needs 90 days to sell in Ekurhuleni, 93 in Tshwane and 97 in eThekwini.

There are many factors which influence time on the market, including market conditions, price range, and the condition of the property.

In South Africa, Cape Town continues to benefit from inward migration or semigration of professionals and others, and this is helping push demand for property.

Freehold properties are selling slightly quicker than Sectional Scheme, Estate-Freehold and Estate-Sectional Scheme in 2024, and while this has changed from year to year, the difference between the property types has never been significant.

Time on market by property type

There is little difference between the price bands in 2024, although historically the higher price bands have needed more time on the market to sell.

Time on market by value band

Finally, a snapshot of our five big metros shows that the time on the market has increased in most cities and price bands.

Value band by city