The gap between Cape Town and Johannesburg residential property values continues to widen

The gap between the Cape Town and Johannesburg property markets continues to widen in favour of the former, according to data released by Lightstone.

In terms of average price paid, Cape Town outperformed Johannesburg in all six years from 2019 to 2024, while also inching ahead in terms of outright sales volumes from 2021 onwards.

The Mother City’s sales volumes have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, while Johannesburg’s numbers have fallen below 2019 levels.

The six-year comparison released by Lightstone also shows that the average price for residential properties in Cape Town has consistently outpaced growth in Johannesburg.

In the six years since 2019, the average residential property price has remained in the band between R1 million and R1.5 million, while Cape Town properties have moved from around R1.6 million to over R2 million.

There has also been an increase in out-of-towners purchasing properties in Cape Town. According to Lightstone, the percentage of buyers who had previously owned a property in the city dropped from 77% in 2021 to 72% in 2024. Data showed that the percentage of Cape Town property buyers who came from other properties rose from around 16% in 2021 to 20% in 2024.

In terms of suburbs with the highest property values, Llandudno tops the list with an average sales price of R26 million, followed by Bishopscourt, at R23 million, and Goedehoop Estate, at R21 million.

These were followed by Clifton (R20m), Constantia (R18m), Alphen (R17m), with Sweet Valley, Bel Ombre, Noordhoek and Sillery all tied on R16 million.

The highest sales volumes were recorded in The Hague, a section of Delft adjacent to the Cape Town International Airport, with over 1,000 properties sold at an average of just over R133,000. Sea Point was next in terms of volume, at an average of R3.8 million, followed by Sandown (R1.79m) and Cape Town CBD (R2.45m).

IOL