{"id":820294,"date":"2025-04-20T12:59:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T10:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=820294"},"modified":"2025-04-20T12:59:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T10:59:26","slug":"south-africa-ranks-best-in-the-world-for-people-who-want-to-own-a-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/820294\/south-africa-ranks-best-in-the-world-for-people-who-want-to-own-a-house\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa ranks best in the world for people who want to own a house"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

International real estate brokers Best Brokers ranked South Africa as the most affordable country in which to purchase property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, despite this ranking, many South Africans still face barriers to property ownership, with access to financing and affordability topping the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

International real estate brokers Best Brokers analysed<\/a><\/strong> housing markets across more than 60 countries, adjusting data for inflation to reflect real economic conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their findings show that South Africa ranks as the most affordable country to buy a home, with property prices exceeding average real wages by only 6.22%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rest of the countries on the list of affordable places for home buyers are mostly large and developed economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This makes it the best market globally in terms of cost-to-income ratio in comparison to other countries like Turkey, where property prices account for 81.45% of wages.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report, Turkey is facing an inflation rate of over 61%, which severely diminishes purchasing power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By comparison, South Africa maintains a much more balanced relationship between income and property prices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other countries that performed well include the United States, Bahrain, and Denmark, where higher per capita incomes help offset property costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, although the United States has high property prices per square metre, high average real wages support broader homeownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, South Africa\u2019s top ranking on paper does not mean that all residents find it easy to buy a home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial barriers remain a significant hurdle for many. According to the 2024 TPN Tenant Survey Report, 58% of South Africans said financial constraints were preventing them from purchasing property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the report further noted that 48.1% of South Africans stated they could not afford to buy a home.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite relatively low property prices, access to finance and credit also blocks many would-be homeowners from getting onto the property ladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenges for homebuyers in South Africa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another indicator of these challenges is the growth of rental increases and the drop in vacancies within the rental market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest PayProp Rental Index<\/a><\/strong> for the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that the average rent reached a record high of R9,051\u2014a 5.2% year-on-year increase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a R453 rise compared to the previous year and R195 higher than the third quarter of 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As rental prices climb, many who might otherwise be saving for a home are forced to remain in the rental market for longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rent now accounts for 28.7% of household income in South Africa, up from 28.3% in the previous quarter, squeezing household budgets further.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside rising rental costs, debt repayments are also eating into income, with average repayment burdens increasing from 43.6% to 44.1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, 17% of tenants are currently behind on rent, prompting landlords to increase deposit requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of 2024, the average deposit had risen slightly to 1.31 times the monthly rent amount, compared to 1.29 a year earlier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This move aims to shield landlords from inflation and rental defaults but places further stress on renters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rental prices also vary widely across South Africa\u2019s provinces. The Western Cape remains the most expensive, with an average rental price of R11,141. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, the North West is the most affordable at R6,798. The Free State and Eastern Cape both saw strong rental growth, with the Free State recording an 8.8% increase in late 2023 and a 9.1% increase in early 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa’s biggest province for property, Gauteng, traditionally one of the pricier provinces, experienced a more modest 3.4% rise in rental costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nationally, the rental market is tightening. South Africa\u2019s vacancy rate dropped from 6.72% in 2024 to 5.07% in 2025, giving landlords more pricing power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Western Cape had the lowest vacancy rate at just 1.07% in the third quarter of 2024, highlighting strong ongoing demand. If rental stock fails to keep pace, further price hikes are likely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While a recent global study ranked South Africa as the most affordable country for property, prospective buyers still face some challenges. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":786651,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[22251,11791,4038,853,22252],"class_list":["post-820294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-best-brokers","tag-payprop","tag-property","tag-south-africa","tag-tpn-tenant-survey-report"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820294","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=820294"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":820431,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820294\/revisions\/820431"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}