Despite weakening economy, the residential property market is holding up well.
The total value of sales in the SA housing market has been steadily increasing, with an 8,3% increase in the value of residential-property transactions from 2014 to 2105. This is despite gross domestic product (GDP) growth remaining very low, new-vehicle sales plummeting, and an increasingly aggressive upward interest-rate cycle. Fifty percent of residential properties are located in the Western Cape and Gauteng, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total residential-market value. Sandton and Parkmore in Johannesburg, Green Point and Rondebosch in Cape Town, and Rua Vista and Monument Park in Tshwane – as well as La Lucia and Mount Edgecombe in eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal – were among the high-value suburbs with strong capital growth last year.
“Although the money supply of asset-buying consumers is lessening, property investment remains a top priority for many South Africans, with the City of Cape Town witnessing spirited growth in the housing market over the last five years,” said Paul-Roux De Kock, analytics director, Lightstone, which provides information, valuations and market intelligence on all properties in SA. He was addressing this year’s annual Overview of the South African Property Industry conference that took place at Val de Vie Estate outside Paarl in the Western Cape.
This article originally appeared in Neighbourhood, Sunday Times.