{"id":784995,"date":"2024-08-01T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=784995"},"modified":"2024-08-01T15:29:40","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T13:29:40","slug":"the-one-province-in-south-africa-where-homeowners-are-taking-a-big-hit-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/784995\/the-one-province-in-south-africa-where-homeowners-are-taking-a-big-hit-in-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"The one province in South Africa where homeowners are taking a big hit in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While house prices declined in several provinces in the second quarter of 2024, Kwa-Zulu Natal is the only one to see a double-digit drop in the price of residential property when adjusted for inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is according to the Q2 2024 Oobarometer report published by Ooba Home Loans, which highlighted the latest trends experienced by South Africa\u2019s property market in 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest report indicates that both national and first-time homebuyer purchase prices have experienced a modest nominal price increase year-on-year, with growth rates of 2.3% and 2.7% respectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when adjusted for inflation, real property price growth remains negative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rhys Dyer, CEO of Ooba Group, observed that compared to the previous quarter, both national and first-time homebuyers’ average purchase prices have actually decreased. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The national average purchase price has fallen by 1.4% to R1,458,924, while the average purchase price for first-time homebuyers is down by 1.8% to R1,150,238. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dyer suggested that this decline could be attributed to potential homebuyers making more cautious decisions before upcoming elections and anticipated interest rate adjustments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest data observed that the average purchase prices in Limpopo, Free State, and the Eastern Cape have increased compared to the previous year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Mpumalanga, which was previously a strong contender, has experienced a decline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, the Western Cape showed the most substantial growth in the second quarter of 2024 for both first-time and repeat homebuyers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After adjusting for inflation, property prices in these categories increased by 7.8% and 6.3%, respectively. These regions are the only ones where property prices have increased in real terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other end of the spectrum, like in Mpumalanga, prices dropped in Tshwane and North West, and Johannesburg and the West Rand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KwaZulu Natal (KZN) saw the largest decline in both first-time and repeat homebuyer house prices, recording -6.3% and -7.2%, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the latest CPI inflation data shows the current inflation rate is 5.1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that real property prices in KZN have been hit by double-digit declines, recording -11.4% and -12.3%, respectively, when adjusted for inflation. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johannesburg and the West Rand are the next closest, recording a decline of -2.6%\u2013 which translates to an inflation-adjusted -7.7% compared to last year.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Many experts point to service delivery and investment as the main factors affecting real price growth in the property market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wealth report revealed that millionaires prioritise personal safety, basic service delivery, and political stability when deciding where to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a major reason why the Western Cape has seen notable growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, property strategist John Loos\u2019 analysis for FNB\u2019s 2024 property insights emphasizes the importance of municipal and utility service reliability for commercial property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report points out that rising municipal rates and utility tariffs are impacting net property income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of 1 July 2024, eThekwini offers the second most expensive rates among the major metros, increasing well above inflation for the 2024\/25 financial year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with power cuts, which are experienced country-wide, KZN has also been barraged with water supply issues, including failing road and water infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kwazulu Natal Province has been struggling with service delivery for years, as several of its municipalities have been perceived to be dysfunctional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents of Kwazulu Natal have complained about a lack of water, housing, electricity, and a filthy province which is no longer attractive to tourists as its beaches have continued to be closed and re-opened periodically as a result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although improvements in electricity supply are predicted, Loos expects people to continue relocating to areas with better services, leading to population shifts for residential and business activities\u2014which includes KZN. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Read: Two new property investment hotspots emerging in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Only one province in South Africa has experienced a big decline in the price of residential property when adjusted for inflation in Q2 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":785101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[853],"class_list":["post-784995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784995"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":785158,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784995\/revisions\/785158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}