This is what R12,000 per month gets you in Cape Town vs Joburg vs Durban and more

·21 Oct 2023

Rental properties in South Africa have faced a mixed year, with vacancy rates varying significantly across the country.

According to the latest Rode’s Report, residential rentals are growing in all provinces in nominal terms.

“However, in real terms, rentals are in negative territory, after deducting consumer inflation,” the Report said.

The Western Cape has the lowest vacancy rate of all provinces at 2.9%. That said, it is slightly higher than the 2.1% in Q2.

The national average currently stands at 6.9%, which has led to an increase in rental growth to 3.5% in Q2, data from Stats SA shows.

“Of course, semigration is boosting the demand for renting and buying properties in the Western Cape, which also has the lowest unemployment rate in the country,” the report said.

“Rode data shows that flats in smaller towns, like Stellenbosch and George, have virtually zero vacancies.”

“The Western Cape also has the best tenants of all nine provinces based on PayProp data, with only 14,4% of tenants in arrears − well below the national average of 18,4%.”

The report also looks at the monthly rental prices for a bachelor, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom flat in major areas :

Joburg

Size	Standard	Upmarket
Bachelor	R5,319	R6,064
1 Bedroom	R5,706	R6,652
2 Bedroom	R6,913	R7,714
3 bedroom	R8,882	R9,610

Pretoria

Size	Standard	Upmarket
Bachelor	R3,976	–
1 Bedroom	R5,984	–
2 Bedroom	R7,513	–
3 Bedroom	R8,132	–

Durban

Size	Standard	Upmarket
Bachelor	R4,229	–
1 Bedroom	R6,177	–
2 Bedroom	R7,726	–
3 Bedroom	R8,165	–

Cape Town

Size	Standard	Upmarket
Bachelor	R5,937	R8,180
1 Bedroom	R7,433	R10,950
2 Bedroom	R8,933	R13,221
3 Bedroom	R13,272	R14,433

George

Size	Standard	Upmarket
Bachelor	R5,250	–
1 Bedroom	R6,250	–
2 Bedroom	R7,813	–
3 Bedroom	R9,250	–

Gqeberha

Size	Standard	Upmarket
Bachelor	R3,950	R4,380R
1 Bedroom	R4,541	R4,991
2 Bedroom	R5,330	R6,183
3 Bedroom	R6,230	R7,222

East London

Size	Standard	Upmarket
Bachelor	R3,650	–
1 Bedroom	R5,058	–
2 Bedroom	R6,867	–
3 Bedroom	R7,742	–

Bloemfontein

Size	Standard	Upmarket
Bachelor	R3,800	R4,173
1 Bedroom	R4,194	R4,561
2 Bedroom	R5,018	R5,831
3 Bedroom	R5,992	R6,864

Kimberly

Size	Standard	Upmarket
Bachelor	R3,900	–
1 Bedroom	R5,500	–
1 Bedroom	R7,400	–
1 Bedroom	R8,100	–

Pietermaritburg

Size	Standard	Upmarket
Bachelor	R3,600	R4,500
1 Bedroom	R4,993	R6,025
2 Bedroom	R6,283	R7,125
3 Bedroom	R7,517	R8,800

Although samples of upmarket flats are hard to find, there are still these types of units available across the country.

With this in mind, BusinessTech looked at what R12,000 – the average price for a large upmarket unit between Johannesburg and Cape Town – gets you in some of the country’s biggest cities

Joburg

2 bedroom apartment in Killarney