Where the Gauteng middle class are staying and what they're paying

According to BusinessTech, the young middle class of South Africa is buying fewer houses than they did six years ago.

Lightstone Property gathered data showing that in 2018 individuals aged 26 to 35 purchased 92,558 properties. By 2023 this number dropped to 69,577 property purchases, a 25% decline.

This age group also accounted for 27% of property purchases in 2023.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that they are spending any less.

Where in South Africa are they choosing to stay?

Apparently, Gauteng is the most desirable area due to its affordability and economic opportunity.

Here are the areas where the majority of sales happened in 2023 and 2024:

• Impumelelo, a housing development project in Devon in the Sedibeng Municipality of Gauteng
• Sky City, a housing development project in Ekurhuleni, and
• Belhar, Cape Town.

While there is a clear decrease in young and active homebuyers as the cost of living keeps increasing, 36% of them will pay between R1 million and R3 million in 2023, compared to only 29% in 2018. 

Seeff Property Group have also shared that areas in Gauteng, including Johannesburg, are the most affordable areas in the country:

First-time home buyers also pay an average price of R700,000 to R800,000, with the average price of luxury homes being R4-million.

Gauteng might seem like the more attractive province but trends show that more people are moving towards the coast where there are "better-run provinces".

The most popular suburbs in the Western Cape include areas  Belhar, Sandown, Atlantic Hills, and Sitari in Cape Town and Somerset West.

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Main image courtesy of iStock