{"id":865004,"date":"2026-07-05T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=865004"},"modified":"2026-07-03T16:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:41:11","slug":"the-coastal-city-becoming-the-new-semigration-hotspot-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/865004\/the-coastal-city-becoming-the-new-semigration-hotspot-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"The coastal city becoming the new semigration hotspot in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The city of Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) is experiencing a residential property boom as multi-billion rand investments pour into the metro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data from the Statistics South Africa Coega SEZ Census Report reveals that Coega, South Africa’s largest and premier industrial development zone, now has 57 active operations employing 11,243 individuals, which represents a year-on-year growth of 14.2%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just Property Port Elizabeth Franchisee Andrea Stevens said that the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ) stands out as one of the Metro’s key economic engines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The friendly city\u2019s underlying economy is telling us a much more positive story than the headlines would suggest, and it\u2019s visible in residential real estate demand and investor confidence,” said Stevens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When industry expands, people follow the work, and when they arrive, they need somewhere to live. Despite service delivery challenges, the base drivers of property value – jobs, logistics, infrastructure investment, and steady demand are firmly in place.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevens said that this growth is associated with several sectors, including automotive manufacturing, technology, expansive e-commerce warehousing, and significant investments in green energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Coega Green Ammonia Project, valued at $5.8 billion (equivalent to nearly R95 billion at current conversion rates), is recognised as one of Africa’s largest clean energy export projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently in its final developmental phase, the project reached a significant milestone by awarding a US$1 billion contract to Danish clean-tech firm Topsoe for equipment and technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Ammonia Energy Association Industry Tracking, the facility is set to harness 1,430 MW of solar power and 1,499 MW of wind energy, aiming to produce one million tonnes of green ammonia annually by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A R22 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal agreement has been established at the Port of Ngqura, which is expected to supply over 3,500 MW of power for data centres and local industries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multi-billion rand clean energy initiatives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Just Property Port Elizabeth Franchisee Andrea Stevens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stevens said that the surge in clean energy initiatives is creating hundreds of corporate engineering and technical positions, subsequently increasing the demand for middle-market housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This echoes the optimism of the latest Absa Homeowner Sentiment Index Summary, which puts overall market optimism at a record 88% high, and which we\u2019re experiencing first-hand,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Plus, long-term capital growth is excellent: properties in good areas that were valued at R1 million 10 years ago are now worth around R1.5 million, representing an excellent 50% capital gain.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent reports indicate that port performance is improving significantly alongside the industrial boom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Bank Container Port Performance Index Report highlights that South African container terminals, including those in Durban, Ngqura, and Port Elizabeth, are among the top global performers in terms of year-on-year improvements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Along with Transnet\u2019s ongoing infrastructure upgrades, the R2.2 billion Liquid Bulk Terminal expansion, and the multi-billion-rand relocation of the regional manganese facility to increase capacity to 16 million tonnes, these are all significant, long-term economic anchors,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevens said that the properties currently most sought after by new buyers and tenants are townhouses and cluster homes in Walmer, Lorraine, and nearby suburbs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referencing data from the deeds office in Property24\u2019s Trends Dashboard, she mentioned that sectional title units are driving market activity, with an average selling price of R875,000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the rental side, she said corporate-class townhouses now rent for more than R11,000 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“With rental demand this strong, well-located, secure units are being snapped up almost immediately. The result is a shortage of good housing, which is keeping both sales and rental values firm – music to an investor\u2019s ears,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevens said that Gqeberha\u2019s reputation as a coastal lifestyle destination contributes to a continuous influx of semigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“People are increasingly realising that they can enjoy a similar coastal lifestyle to the Cape and KwaZulu-Natal for less.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another coastal city is competing with Cape Town as residential property soars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":865014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[21153,12697,25683],"class_list":["post-865004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-gqeberha","tag-just-property","tag-south-africa-coega-sez-census-report"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865004","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=865004"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":865018,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865004\/revisions\/865018"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}