{"id":852510,"date":"2026-03-02T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=852510"},"modified":"2026-03-02T15:27:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T13:27:30","slug":"goodbye-cape-town-south-africans-flooding-to-joburg-for-one-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/852510\/goodbye-cape-town-south-africans-flooding-to-joburg-for-one-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye Cape Town – South Africans flooding to Joburg for one thing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows that employment is the main driver of internal migration in South Africa, with 28% of individuals relocating to other provinces for paid work, and Gauteng is the top destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Stats SA, around 9.1 million lifetime migrants have crossed provincial boundaries, with Gauteng attracting the lion\u2019s share\u20144.5 million people\u2014followed by the Western Cape with 1.5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2021 and 2026 (the latest estimate), Gauteng is expected to see 1.4 million in-migrants, far outweighing movements into other provinces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most common migration streams are Limpopo to Gauteng (13.4%) and KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng (7.2%), Stats SA noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Gauteng attracts the most internal migrants seeking work, its unemployment rate remains higher than that of the Western Cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, the province provides the greatest number of job opportunities, which explains the large influx of internal migrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Western Cape is the second most popular destination for semigrants and has the country’s lowest unemployment rate, but the number of job opportunities pales in comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent statistics also indicate a reversal of the semigration trend, as more households are returning to inland provinces such as Gauteng rather than continuing a years-long migration pattern towards coastal provinces such as Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New data from banks, real estate agencies, and various platforms indicate that while coastal areas remain appealing, property demand is increasingly balanced nationwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gauteng, in particular, is experiencing a resurgence in interest from both buyers and those relocating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This trend was noted in Absa\u2019s most recent Homeowners Sentiment Index (HSI) for the fourth quarter of 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The index showed that sentiment toward property purchases rose by 3 percentage points to 80% among respondents from inland areas, while it remained steady at 74% in coastal regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Absa, the primary positive factors influencing sentiment in both regions include the perception that real estate is a sound long-term investment, expectations of price increases, and the potential for property sales to yield profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Higher semigration, higher affordability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Numerous agencies have observed an increasing trend of individuals returning to Gauteng. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Property experts highlight that improved job prospects and significantly lower property prices are the main factors driving people away from coastal metropolitan areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Affordability continues to shape lifestyle choices in South Africa. Coastal respondents highlighted affordability issues, whereas inland buyers seemed more optimistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Property prices in Johannesburg, including rentals, remain considerably lower than those in Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Higher affordability allows buyers to acquire larger homes or properties in better locations within the same budget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samuel Seeff, Chairman of Seeff Properties, stated that the disparity in prices is even more evident in the luxury market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Johannesburg, the luxury segment typically ranges from R5 million to R15 million, whereas in Cape Town, it starts around R8.5 million and can exceed R30 million, with many properties being sold between R20 million and R100 million in recent years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Golding, CEO of Pam Golding Properties, characterised 2025 as a transformative year for semigration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that while there is still a steady, albeit slower, outflow to the Western Cape, Gauteng is witnessing a reverse trend with a partial return of residents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Millions of South Africans have moved across provincial borders over the years, but most are doing so looking for one thing \u2014 and hoping to find it in the economic heartland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":831275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[4588,1652,20721],"class_list":["post-852510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-employment","tag-gauteng","tag-semigration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852510","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\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852510"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":852554,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852510\/revisions\/852554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}