The rental market is booming – here’s what R100,000 can get you in South Africa’s richest areas

While property sales remain low amid high interest rates, the rental market is booming.

Seeff Property Group said that the would-be buyers turned to rentals for more affordability and reduced risk, with the group seeing roughly 18% growth on its rental book and, in some cases, doubling its rental book over the last three years.

This is also the case in the high-end luxury sector of the market.

According to Ross Levin, licensee for Seeff Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl, although there is demand in the R20,000 to R35,000 per month price band, there is large amounts of activity in the R40,000 to R60,000 band, with high-end rentals still reaching R80,000 to R100,000.

Caché Pasquale, rental manager for Seeff Sandton, said that the R10,000 to R15,000 per month range is the most active – but the group was able to rent a property for R92,250 per month in Hyde Park.

The Pretoria East luxury sector is also seeing major activity, with high-end tenants paying up to R79,3000 in Woodhill Golf Estate.

That said, Payprop’s data showed that the best growth rates for rental properties were found in some of the country’s less wealthy, inland provinces, such as North West (9.3%), Mpumalanga (6.3%), and Northern Cape (6.2%).

The wealthiest provinces, Gauteng (4.7%), Western Cape (4.3%) and KZN (2.5%), saw far lower growth.

Western Cape does, however, remain the most expensive province, with an average rental rate of R9,946 per month.

The improved rental market has also buoyed the buy-to-let market, with investment property sales rising to their highest level since late 2009, data from ooba showed.

The strongest area for investment and buy-to-let is the Western Cape at 28.5%, followed by Mpumalanga (10%), Free State (9.6%), Limpopo (9.2%) and Eastern Cape (8.1%).

Below are some properties currently on the market in the most expensive areas to rent in South Africa :

• 4 Bedroom House in Hyde Park
• Rent: R120,000

• 6 Bedroom House in Woodhill Golf Estate, Pretoria
• Rent: R95,000

• 4 Bedroom Apartment in Fresnaye, Cape Town
• Price: R90,000

Read: Hot demand for luxury property in South Africa – this is what you can get for R4 million-plus