Property Newsletter | July 2023
Rising interest rates add to tough times,
but Western Cape offers promising opportunity
In this article, we examine sales activity in 2021 and 2022 in three residential property price bands across the country’s six major metros. Cape Town leads stock count and sales in the upper price bands, while Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni dominate in the lower bands.
Properties in demand
In this article, we examine sales activity in 2021 and 2022 in three residential property price bands across the country’s six major metros. Cape Town leads stock count and sales in the upper price bands, while Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni dominate in the lower bands.
Madiba magic not enough for Eastern Cape
Taking an in depth look at the Eastern Cape, we find the property market hampered by slow population growth, a high proportion of non-economically active people and a significant rural population. What’s more, the province’s contribution to South Africa’s national GDP has been falling since 2011, and no surprise that the Eastern Cape has the country’s highest level of unemployment.
Homeowners under increased pressure as interest rates rise
In this article we find higher rates have added R600m a month for those servicing bonds taken out in 2021, adding additional stress to consumers already struggling with increased power costs, higher living expenses and a weakening currency.
House Price Index
Lightstone’s analysis of the national year-on-year house price inflation is at 3.88%, which is again a slight increase on the previous month. Annual property inflation remained steady in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, increased in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and the Western Cape, and decreased in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and the Northern Cape. For a detailed analysis at provincial and municipal level, take a look at our monthly Residential Property Indices Report.
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