{"id":840052,"date":"2025-10-18T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=840052"},"modified":"2025-10-17T17:34:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T15:34:08","slug":"the-cities-where-south-africans-have-avoided-buying-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/840052\/the-cities-where-south-africans-have-avoided-buying-property\/","title":{"rendered":"The cities where South Africans have avoided buying property"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa\u2019s property market has seen significant shifts over the past few years, with certain cities and regions losing momentum as others surged ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Property experts told BusinessTech that markets like the Western Cape and Cape Town have benefited from semigration and lifestyle-driven demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, they added that several once-strong areas have struggled with low sales volumes, weak price growth, and dampened buyer confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Samuel Seeff, chairman of the Seeff Property Group, KwaZulu-Natal\u2019s coastal regions were among the hardest hit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe KZN coastal areas suffered a notable decline in sales volumes following the 2021 riots in the province,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis had a tremendous impact just when the market was doing quite well. It was a very difficult period for the coastal area, and it has taken a few years to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unrest and subsequent floods in 2022 left a lasting mark on local sentiment and infrastructure, particularly in eThekwini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeff noted that these events disrupted business activity and slowed the recovery of the local housing market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While prime coastal suburbs such as Umhlanga and Ballito have started to rebound, the Durban CBD and surrounding areas remain subdued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPrice growth remained fairly flat, but with that said, there is a great opportunity to invest now before prices take another notable upturn,\u201d said Seeff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second major area of decline has been Gauteng\u2019s metropolitan markets. Seeff said that property sales in Johannesburg dropped notably over recent years, primarily due to municipal service delivery failures and the outflow of semigration buyers to the Cape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile the Cape market boomed despite the high interest rate challenges of the 2022\u20132023 period, Joburg was struggling with high stock levels and almost no price growth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, again, Seeff added that these challenges have also created opportunities for buyers and investors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt means that buyers are able to find property at prices which have hardly moved over the last few years. Given that rental demand is high in the city, it also presents opportunities for rental investors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe market has improved, and prices are ticking up for the first time in over two years, although still only marginally, with stock levels depleting, and buyers really should take advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smaller cities also struggling with demand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Data from multiple banks and property research firms support this trend. The CEO and founder of Real Estate Services, Giovanni Gaggia, noted that Johannesburg\u2019s sales activity has trended lower since 2019, with only a modest uptick recorded in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He described this as a \u201cregional divergence,\u201d with Gauteng and the Western Cape both showing temporary declines in activity, while parts of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal experienced short-lived improvements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis doesn\u2019t mean a market collapse, but it does mean fewer deals concluded relative to prior years in those provinces during that window,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gaggia said that affordability pressures driven by high interest rates and stagnant income growth, coupled with growing buyer caution and poor municipal governance, have weighed heavily on demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Johannesburg, urban decay, crime, and inconsistent service delivery have further discouraged investment, particularly in the inner city and certain older suburbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela Bay, encompassing Gqeberha, has faced its own headwinds. The city\u2019s prolonged water crisis and ongoing governance issues have slowed sales and weakened confidence, though some resilient neighbourhoods have managed to hold steady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smaller industrial and mining towns, particularly in provinces such as Mpumalanga, have also experienced subdued activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their dependence on single industries or employers means that economic downturns can quickly erode property values and reduce buyer interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these regional struggles, experts emphasise that the broader market remains fundamentally sound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recent slowdown, Gaggia said, has helped correct overinflated prices and restore more realistic market conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe past few years have seen a healthy correction that has restored more realistic pricing in many regions, creating strong value opportunities for both first-time buyers and investors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semigration continues to be a powerful force which has sustained demand in growth nodes such as the Western Cape, the Garden Route, and KwaZulu-Natal\u2019s North Coast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Gauteng, renewed activity is being seen in affordable housing and mixed-use developments, while developers nationwide are increasingly focusing on energy-efficient, secure, and lifestyle-oriented projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Banks are also reporting improving home loan approvals, and with interest-rate relief expected in the coming quarters, experts predict a gradual rise in transaction volumes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile certain markets have softened, the national property landscape is stabilising and repositioning for its next growth cycle,\u201d said the CEO. \u201cQuality, location, and lifestyle remain the key drivers of long-term value.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa\u2019s property market has seen significant shifts over the past few years, with certain cities and regions losing momentum as others surged ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":749092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[20360,11693,853],"class_list":["post-840052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-real-estate-services","tag-seeff-property-group","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840052","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=840052"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":840063,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840052\/revisions\/840063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}