Property

The most expensive province for shopping malls in South Africa

Jonathan Hoyle

 ·2 Aug 2026

Shopping malls in the Western Cape have the highest earnings of any other province, but also have some of the highest rental costs for tenants.

The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town is one of the largest malls in the area and draws 24 million visitors every year.

The mall charges an estimated R400-R600 per square metre to potential tenants, according to Occupi.

The high rent is due to strong demand for retail space in the mall, which has an occupancy rate of approximately 99.7%. 

The mall performs particularly well due to support from Cape Town’s tourism industry, creating seasonal boosts for stores.

Despite its high rental costs, the mall has a strong earning potential, with the Clur Index noting that Western Cape malls have the highest earnings of any other province.

The trading density in the province was approximately R50,000 per square metre in the first quarter of 2026.

This represents a 5.2% increase from the previous quarter and is roughly R5,000 higher than KwaZulu-Natal’s trading density, the second-highest-performing province.

Malls in KZN offer strong potential earnings for stores, as rental prices are often lower than in other provinces.

The Cornubia Mall in Durban offers retail space at approximately R250-R350 per square metre, significantly lower than at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

The mall also sees less foot traffic than other areas, with approximately 6 million visitors every year.

The Clur Index found that retail space in KZN has a trading density of roughly R45,000 per square metre, benefitting from the slightly lower rental costs.

The lower rent in Durban’s malls is in line with the property costs in both areas, as Cape Town’s property market has significantly higher prices.

Despite the high costs, the Western Cape still outperforms other provinces due to the revenue generated by tourists and wealthy locals.

Malls in Gauteng

Malls in Gauteng also performed well in the first quarter of 2026, with the province having an average trading density of R41,800 per square metre.

The area also has some of South Africa’s largest malls, including the Fourways Mall in Johannesburg.

This mall had an average rental price of approximately R262 per square metre in 2023, which would equate to approximately R280 per square metre in 2026 after inflation.

The Fourways Mall faced challenges in the past, after its rental costs dropped between 2020 and 2023, as demand for its retail space declined.

One of the mall owners, Accelerate Property Fund, put a plan into place to address the decline in demand, with results beginning to show in 2025.

The mall has roughly 20 million visitors annually, benefiting from Gauteng’s large population and its impressive number of stores.

The Menlyn Mall, also in Gauteng, has rental costs similar to Fourways Mall, with estimated prices ranging from R170 to R200 per square metre.

It is the largest mall in Pretoria, and boasts an average annual foot traffic of roughly 19 million people.

The rental prices for South Africa’s malls reflect the inflation rates of different areas, particularly in property markets.

The Western Cape has consistently seen property costs rise at a much faster rate than in other provinces, with Cape Town as a driving force behind this change.

Property costs in the city have increased by 141% since 2010, outpacing the national average of 98% over the same period.

Rising property costs have also driven up the cost of goods in the area, as retail outlets have to charge higher prices to cover their rental costs.

In Gauteng and KZN, mall rental costs are similar, but KZN does enjoy slightly higher trading density, according to the Clur Index.

Trading density of South Africa’s top-performing provinces