Signs of resilience in SA’s property market

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Hayley Ivins-Downes, head of digital at Lightstone says despite a decline in property sales, there were positive signs in 2024.

South Africa’s residential property market is starting to show signs of resilience due to a sense of optimism and increased political stability since the formation of the government of national unity (GNU).

This is can be seen in Lightstone’s analysis of the residential sales in the two six-month periods in 2023, and the first half of 2024 which showed positive signs although the market was still sluggish.

Hayley Ivins-Downes, head of digital at Lightstone says volumes and value were both down in the first half of 2024, as 103 000 properties were sold for R139 billion, compared to the same period in 2023, where 104 500 properties were sold for R144 billion.

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Property sells for less

She adds that despite a decline in sales, there were positive signs in 2024.

“The proportion of negative sales, where the property sells for less than it was bought for, has decreased from the second half of last year’s levels.”

She says this can suggest a potential easing of the tough conditions homeowners have faced since Covid-19.

First-time property buyers

For the whole of last year, there was an increase in the number of first-time buyers, and for the first half of 2024, numbers showed stability as they did not increase more than 2023 combined.

“Although the variance is barely noticeable, it suggested a stability in the market over 18 months.”

Ivins-Downes adds that the property market’s performance came against a backdrop of a small increase in both the volume and value of residential stock available.

“In August 2024, there were 7 050 000 properties registered at the Deeds Office, representing a marginal increase from the previous year. The total value of South Africa’s residential property market reached R7 trillion in August 2024, up slightly from R6.8 trillion in August 2023”.

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Volume, value, and average per property type

Ivins-Downes says Sectional Scheme sales volumes were up in the first six months of 2024 to 33 000 sales compared to the corresponding period in 2023 of 32 000 sales.

“Freehold sales volumes were slightly down to 54 000 in the first six months of 2024 compared the same period in 2023 of 55 000. Similarly, Estate sales also fell to just under 16 000 in 2024 from just over 17 000 in 2023.”

When it comes to the flat market, Western Cape continued to outperform other provinces in attracting homeowners, followed by Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

However, as illustrated by the graphs below, Gauteng remained South Africa’s largest province in both sales volume and value of transactions over the past three six-month periods.