How much it costs to live in South Africa’s best-run municipalities – and what you get

·9 Oct 2022

The Western Cape has seen South Africans from other metros arriving en masse for better-run municipalities and a more laid-back lifestyle.

In terms of News24’s Out of Order Index, the Western Cape municipalities of Cape Agulhas and nearby Overstrand performed the best in terms of how the municipalities run.

The index allocates each of the more than 200 local municipalities and eight metros a score on a scale from 0-100, where 0 is a failure and 100 is perfectly performing.

It also takes into account financial data from state institutions such as the National Treasury’s budget data which is used for calculating budget allocations to municipalities, the Auditor-General’s reports, and Statistics South Africa.

On top of financial statements, measures of unemployment, poverty and basic service delivery to households are also taken into account.

Cape Agulhas is the southernmost town of Africa, sitting at the bottom of the Cape, a ways away from Cape Town. Overstand consisting of popular destinations such as Hermanus and Gansbaai, are slightly closer to the mother city but offers similar beach views at the cost of being slightly less isolated.

Home services company Kandua.com has reported an increase in semigration enquiries across the country due to work-from-home and remote work models. This, in turn, has driven a competitive property market in the province.

As a result of increased levels of semigration and homebuying activity, the average deposit size when buying a property in the Western Cape was set at 17%, the highest out of all other provinces, said Jackie Smith, the head of Buyers Trust, a subsidiary of the property company Ooba Group.

“This could be attributed to increased semigration and the scarcity of property supply in the region, resulting in homebuyers needing to put down a larger deposit to secure their dream home,” said Smith.

In the Western Cape, the average price of a house is, according to Smith, R1,878,701 with an average deposit of R315,470.

BusinessTech looked at what houses look and cost in these well-run municipalities:

Cape Agulhas

4 bedroom house for sale in Agulhas – R3,750,000