Johannesburg skyline. Many of South Africa’s leading property companies have begun reporting an improvement in office vacancies nationally.
Image: Timothy Bernard/Independent Newspapers
The huge influx of South Africans moving to Cape Town from Johannesburg has subsided and in fact, 2024 saw over R1 billion worth of office space sold in the city of gold.
Rory O’Hagan, a principal of Chas Everitt Hyde Park and Sandton said that “2024 was certainly a delicious year for Johannesburg” and noted that the total value of sales for the year was over R1,24 billion for residental properties.
He added that almost 500 properties were sold in Bedfordview, Midrand and the northern suburbs of Johannesburg.
The property expert said that the market has gathered speed since the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the announcement of two interest rate cuts in September and November 2024.
“Prospective buyers have noted the steady progress being made with fixing Johannesburg’s infrastructure, and November was a record month for us. We were also extremely busy all the way through December, which is usually a quiet month in Johannesburg, and even had agents taking offers on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day,” O’Hagan said.
“What is more, the official stats are now showing that our predictions of a turnaround in the Johannesburg property market are rapidly coming true as the number of buyers returning from Cape Town and overseas continues to grow and demand rebounds from its post-pandemic lows.”
New data from Lightstone also noted that 2024 saw a decline in the number of people semigrating to the Western Cape compared to 2022 and also that Gauteng now attracts around 40% of the property owners who change provinces after selling their homes, while the Western Cape only attracts around 20% of those sellers.
FNB Property Barometer noted a sharp rise in activity in Gauteng as well as the Western Cape following last year’s rate cuts.
The national average house price rose by a nominal 4,3% last year, the Johannesburg North region was 5,7% and was one of three to beat this average, with the others being the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga.
O’Hagan said that the Johannesburg metro continued to account for around 36% of all home loan applications, compared to the 19% received from the whole of the Western Cape, which is losing semigrants now due to high property costs, traffic congestion in Cape Town and harsh winters.
“Return-to-work mandates issued by many companies headquartered in Johannesburg are also prompting many of those who relocated to Cape Town after Covid to return full-time, instead of coping with the hassle of weekly commuting,” he explained.
“We foresee that things will continue to look up for Johannesburg home sellers in 2025 as interest rates continue to fall, the economy expands and demand rises”.
Lastly, O’Hagan warned property sellers in Johannesburg not to hike their prices in 2025.
“They should not take this as their cue to raise their asking prices. Many households in SA are still suffering the effects of high inflation and rising interest rates over the past few years, so the excellent value for money currently on offer in the Johannesburg property market is one of the biggest draw cards for prospective buyers,” he said.
IOL BUSINESS