The two most expensive cities for rent in South Africa
Properties on the Atlantic Seaboard in Cape Town easily charge the most rent in South Africa, while upmarket apartments in Pretoria are also highly pricey.
According to the latest Rode report, flat vacancy rates on a national level averaged 6.7% in Q2 2024, down from 7.9% in Q1 2024. Vacancy rates are thus below the national average of 7.2% in 2023.
Vacancy rates are calculated by dividing the number of flats vacant by the total stock managed by managing agents.
“Regionally, Gauteng surprised us with its flat vacancy rate declining significantly to 7,1% from 9,3% in the first quarter of 2024,” said the report.
“This was due to lower vacancies in Johannesburg and Pretoria. Gauteng’s flat rentals grew by 2% year on year in the first quarter, based on Stats SA data.”
“As rental increases are not lifting the roof, the data suggests that property owners or their managers have generally kept rental levels in control to keep properties tenanted.”
The Western Cape stood out with its low flat vacancy rate of 2.7% in Q2 2024, well below the national average.
The Western Cape’s flat-rental growth of 4.2% was also better than that of Gauteng.
“The Western Cape has the best tenants of all nine provinces based on first-quarter 2024 PayProp data, with only 14,2% of tenants in arrears.”
“Let’s also remember this is the province with the lowest unemployment rate in South Africa.”
Rode said that the decline in the national vacancy rates since their COVID peak of 13% has supported rental growth.
That said, the slower-than-inflation rent increase, combined with dropping vacancies and the growing number of tenants in arrears, means that property managers are not pushing up asking rentals unduly.
A positive factor for the rental market over the short term is high borrowing costs, with the repo rate at a 15-year high of 8.25%. This has swayed many potential buyers to rather rent.
However, the South African Reserve Bank looks set to cut interest rates in September, with inflation heading to the central bank’s target of 4.5%, the rand strengthening following the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the USA also set to cut interest rates.
“Eventual declines in interest rates could see some people choose to buy rather than rent,” said Rode.
Most expensive areas
The Rode’s Report also includes data on the average price for rentals across South Africa.
Unlike our previous comparisons that focused on two-bedroom apartments, we have decided to instead focus on upmarket 3-bedroom apartments.
Overall, Camps Bay, Clifton and Bantry Bay on the Atlantic Seaboard in Cape Town had the highest rent at R130,000 for an upmarket three-bedroom apartment.
Sea Point, Green Point and Three Anchor Bay on the Atlantic Seaboard followed in second place at R55,000.
Using the available data, Cape Town and Pretoria are the only cities to be featured in the top 10, with rents starting at R17,000.
| Area | Rent for an upmarket 3-bedroom flat |
| Camps Bay/Clifton/Bantry Bay, Cape Town | R130 000 |
| Sea Point/Green Point/Three Anchor Bay, Cape Town | R55 000 |
| Muizenberg/Kalk Bay/Fish Hoek, Cape Town | R25 000 |
| Tyger Valley area, Cape Town | R20 000 |
| Groenkloof/Brooklyn/Most Waterkloof/Erasmusrand, Pretoria | R20 000 |
| Hatfield, Pretoria | R20 000 |
| Milnerton Burgundy Estate, Cape Town | R18 500 |
| Pretoria East, Pretoria | R18 500 |
| Rondebosch/Rosebank/ Claremont, Cape Town | R18 000 |
| Somerset West, Cape Town | R17 000 |
Examples of upmarket properties that are available in Cape Town and Pretoria can be found below”
- 3-bedroom apartment in Sea Point, Cape Town
- Rent: R55,000
- 2-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, Pretoria
- Rent: R16,500
Read: Big tax changes coming for millionaires in South Africa – with help from the USA, UK, EU and China
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