New data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) shows that since 2010, property prices in the country have increased by 98%, with the City of Cape Town showing the most significant surge at 141%.
“Since August 2014, price increases in Cape Town have been consistently higher than in other metros. After remaining relatively flat in 2018 and 2019, prices surged further,” reported the statistics agency.
The latest reports compared eight metropolitan municipalities across nine provinces measuring changes in residential property prices through a new set of residential property price inflation (RPPI) metrics.
The RPPI measures the change in prices for houses, townhouses and flats that private individuals purchase.
On the opposite end of the scale, Johannesburg reported the slowest increase in property prices since 2010, with residential property prices rising on average by 71%.
On average, all metros saw a 98% increase in property prices.
StatsSA provided the following breakdown of the metros:
Cape Town: +141% All Metros: +98% Ekhuruleni: +94% Tshwane: +91% Buffalo City: +89% eThekwini +80% Nelson Mandela Bay: +77% Mangaung: +72% Johannesburg: +71%
Cape Town’s boom
Anecdotally across the country, Cape Town’s property boom is no surprise, with semigration to the Western Cape boosting property demand and international buyers also taking an interest.
In terms of the latest Rode’s Report on the South African Property Markets for 2023, the Western Cape has come out on top in the first quarter of this year on a regional level with its lower residential vacancy rate compared to other areas.
On top of being a hotspot for residential development, the commercial side of Cape Town is also seeing significant development, with more businesses moving to the city and, in turn, attracting more job seekers.
