{"id":830371,"date":"2025-07-08T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=830371"},"modified":"2025-07-08T12:28:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T10:28:44","slug":"big-shift-for-south-africas-property-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/830371\/big-shift-for-south-africas-property-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Big shift for South Africa’s property market"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa\u2019s property market is starting to see a shift from renting to buying, with lower interest rates set to buoy the nation\u2019s property market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to BusinessTech, Property24 CEO Nalen Naidoo said that following the start of the interest rate cutting cycle in September 2024, there has been a notable shift from the rental to purchase markets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naidoo said that stock on the platform, which gets over 7 million visitors a month, is moving quicker and receives more leads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the shift has not been massive in scale, Naidoo said it does indicate that the property market is making a turn following years of the rental market performing incredibly well.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that further interest rate cuts would help increase sales, but this remains up in the air because of global uncertainty.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has cut interest rates by a cumulative 100 basis points since September 2024 amid low inflation figures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although inflation expectations have reached a four-year low<\/a>, economists expect the SARB to hold off on further interest rate cuts due to global uncertainty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is linked to the risks facing global trade, with questions over United States trade tariffs and the conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite South Africa facing 15-year high interest rates in 2024, Naidoo said that the South African property market remained incredibly resilient.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The end of the year saw a turning point in the market, with sales increasing by 6% in late 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that the first four months of 2025 saw a slight drop in growth, with sales increasing 4% over the period.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this decline in growth is not systematic and was likely in response to the extended holidays in April and the closure of deeds offices in Gauteng, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A return to Gauteng<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Property24 CEO Nalen Naidoo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Naidoo also noted that the Western Cape overtook Gauteng for transfer values for the first time in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shift of South Africans moving from other provinces to the Western Cape has been a regular feature of property reporting over the last two years, with many drawn to the improved lifestyle and better governance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The province also remains highly popular with wealthy foreigners who can enjoy much higher living standards than in their home countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, while the Western Cape took over in transfer value, Gauteng remains the province with the most transfers\u2014expected, given its larger population.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naidoo said that high-value properties across Cape Town often steal the limelight, but the group is noticing increased activity in areas that are well priced.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, anecdotal evidence suggests that Gauteng is becoming more affordable, with many seen \u2018reverse semigrating’ back to the nation\u2019s economic hub.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming back to Gauteng is becoming more common, fuelled by the return-to-office culture, work opportunities, and the lower cost of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A survey from CareerJunction supports this view. The group flagged a notable return to Gauteng among job seekers, with nearly 60% of the nation\u2019s largest firms headquartered in Johannesburg.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professionals realise that career progression and high-level networking are still centred in Johannesburg, it said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other property experts, such as John Herbst, CEO of Fine & Country Sub-Saharan Africa<\/a>, have flagged similar trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor many professionals, being close to head offices and leadership teams is essential for career growth. Johannesburg continues to be the hub for corporate decision-making,\u201d Herbst said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Property24 CEO Nalen Naidoo says early signs suggest a shift from renting to buying in South Africa, with possible interest rate cuts only driving the trend further.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":730213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[1438,19302,107,3429,2924,3619],"class_list":["post-830371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-careerjunction","tag-fine-and-country","tag-naspers","tag-property24","tag-reserve-bank","tag-sarb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830371","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\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830371"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":830548,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830371\/revisions\/830548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}