Areas with the most expensive rent in South Africa

Cape Town continues to be home to the most expensive areas to rent in South Africa.
This is according to data from the latest Rode’s Report on the South African property market, which listed the average rentals for many areas across South Africa.
According to the report, flat vacancy rates on a national level grew from 6.9% in Q3 2023 to 8.1% in Q4 2024. That said, vacancy rates dropped from an average of 8.3% in 2022 to 7.2% in 2023.
The Western Cape only has a flat vacancy rate of 2.8%, whilst Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were in the double digits.
The report also noted that many South Africans are likely to continue renting instead of buying amid the cost of living crisis.
“Currently, more households choose to rent rather than to buy, primarily due to the high prime lending rate of 11,75%. Prospects for the economy over the next few years are not bright (low growth in household incomes), and although interest rates will likely decline, they will not drop again to the ultra-low pandemic levels,” the
“Thus, it will remain cheaper to rent than to buy over the short term, and it would make sense − purely from a financial point of view − to rent and religiously save the difference between the rent and what the bond instalments would have been.”
“After a few years of saving, a buyer could use the savings for a higher deposit to buy a home, which by then will probably be lower priced in real terms than now. The catch is that few households have
the iron will to religiously save the difference between the rent and the instalment.”
Most expensive areas
Looking exclusively at upmarket apartments, the most expensive area to rent in South Africa is the Waterfront in Cape Town, with the average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment being R32,000.
Cape Town’s City Centre is in second place with R21,000 for a similar property, with Hout Bay completing the podium with R20,000.
Heatherlands in George is in fourth place, with an average rent of R16,000.
The rest of the most expensive areas are all found in Cape Town, except Bendor in Polokwane, where the average rent for an upmarket 2-bedroom apartment is R10,500.
The most expensive area in Johannesburg is Sandton South to Central, with an average rent of R9,000, while in Durban, it’s the Amanzimtoti/Warner Beach area, with an average rent of R8.500.
The most expensive areas to rent a 2-bedroom upmarket apartment can be found below:
Area | Rent |
Waterfront, Cape Town | R32,000 |
City Centre, Cape Town | R21,000 |
Hout Bay, Cape Town | R20,000 |
Heatherlands, George | R16,000 |
Somerset West, Cape Town | R11,750 |
Parklands, Cape Town | R11,000 |
Durbanville, Cape Town | R10,750 |
Bendor/Bendor extension 1, Polokwane | R10,500 |
Belville Area, Cape Town | R10,500 |
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