Trouble for homeowners in Johannesburg
The latest property market data from Lightstone reveals that sellers in Johannesburg have lost the upper hand, and selling a home can be difficult and take a long time.
The analytics group said that the residential property market is often an indicator of an area’s overall health.
This makes the time-on-market of listings in Johannesburg and Cape Town tell a story of South Africa’s two leading cities travelling along different roads, it added.
Johannesburg homeowners are trying to maintain their property values in a city that is “stagnating in parts and drifting downwards in others”.
This stagnation is deeply tied to municipal struggles, meaning that “fixing governance, finances, and infrastructure is seen by many as a prerequisite for any broader recovery” in property demand and homeowner confidence.
Lightstone said that because properties in Johannesburg have been on the market for so long, the balance of power has shifted entirely away from sellers.
A longer time on the market suggests weaker demand or too much supply, leading to a buyer’s market.
In this situation, buyers have greater bargaining power, while lenders and inspectors have greater influence.
Lightstone warned that homeowners must be prepared to wait longer and accept highly negotiated offers.
Lightstone’s data reveals that in the first quarter of 2026, affordable properties priced under R500,000 took the longest to sell in Johannesburg, with a median selling time of 132 days.
By contrast, properties in Cape Town sold much faster, taking only 49 days, compared with the national median of 85 days.
This suggests that challenges in securing mortgages might be hindering housing affordability in Johannesburg.
In Johannesburg, homes priced between R4 million and R6 million sold relatively quickly, at a median of 45 days.
Meanwhile, in Cape Town, homes priced between R1.5 million and R2 million sold in just 16 days.
However, homes above R6 million were slower to sell in Cape Town, averaging 49 days, while in Johannesburg, it took 93 days and 67 days nationally.
Looking at the period from Q1 2024 to Q2 2026, properties priced between R3 million and R4 million in Johannesburg showed a spike in selling time in Q1 2026, similar to a trend in Q1 2024.
Conversely, Cape Town experienced a steady decrease in selling time for the same price range, going from 48 days in Q1 2024 to 20 days in Q1 2026.
Johannesburg homeowners are in a challenging situation. They are connected to a city struggling with significant infrastructure and governance issues.
When they attempt to sell their homes, they encounter a lengthy process and lack negotiating power.
Properties priced between R1 million and R4 million sold the fastest in the first half of 2026, while those priced between R500,000 and R1 million took the longest to sell.
In early 2024, listings under R500,000 were the slowest, but their selling time improved from 92 days in late 2025 to 59 days in mid-2026.
Cape Town had better results overall, but in one price range, Johannesburg performed slightly better.
Specifically, 20% of sellers in Cape Town with listings over R6 million reduced their asking price, while 19% did so in Johannesburg.
Lightstone said that this might be because Cape Town sellers often set higher initial prices to attract buyers in a strong market.
In Johannesburg, sellers of properties priced between R500,000 and R1 million were most likely to lower their prices, with 40% doing so compared to 24% in Cape Town.
The second-highest reduction was seen in the R1.5 million to R2 million range.
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