#PropertyReport: Mid-year market analysis shows solid growth

It is incredible to think we are already halfway through 2022, so it is a good time to reflect on the property market and unpack what has happened over the last 12 months.

A simple initial overview suggests it has been solid and steady, with the annual house price inflation from February 2021 to February this year coming in at around 3.5 percent to eight percent on average.

This is a figure I believe most investors and homeowners would be happy with.

Across South Africa the biggest winners have been the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape, coming in at 8.93 percent and 7.21 percent gains respectively.

KZN fell somewhere in the middle at 4.71 percent, which is, I think, a very respectable percentage considering this period covers the time of the riots.

KZN’s highest yearly inflation rate over the last 4 years was about a year ago after the post lockdown boom which was around 5.7%.
So, to still be close to that level given what has happened since, is not too shabby.

What is interesting though and worth noting, is that coastal properties have performed better than non-coastal properties, with an average of almost 8% inflation versus five percent countrywide.

We cannot drill down specifically to the North Coast on these stats, but I am confident that in our area, Ballito and surrounds, we are actually performing higher than the 4.71 percent KZN average and are potentially somewhere closer to the six percent mark.

Freehold properties have outperformed sectional titles in terms of property price inflation. Freehold price inflation is above the national average inflation, whereas sectional title falls below.

Again, remember this statistic is countrywide and does not account for local differences.

Low value properties have seen the highest inflation with almost a 10% rise, while mid, high and luxury inflation are all much of a muchness around the 5% mark. Note that low prices are considered below R250 000 and luxury above R1.5-million.

Another statistic that some readers might be interested in relates to foreign buyers. Last year saw the highest volume of foreign buyers purchasing property in SA, and the highest percentage of foreign buyers for the total number of sales in 10 years.

Additionally, the total purchase value of property by foreign buyers was also significantly higher in 2021 than any other year.

What is noteworthy in my mind is that KZN came in a clear third place behind Gauteng and the Western Cape for the number of foreign purchases.

So, all in all, with some current tough economic conditions upon us, it has been a very solid and stable property market during the past 12 months in all areas of SA.

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