Johannesburg Housing Market Report - 2021

As part of our series of reports on the eight metros in South Africa, this report on the residential property market in Johannesburg, Gauteng, provides a detailed analysis of government-sponsored properties, freehold and sectional title homes, new and resale transactions, lending, and first-time homeowners.

The report, which draws on deeds data as of 30 June 2021, begins to unpack the impact of COVID and economic lockdowns on the residential property market. With a total value of about R1 trillion, Johannesburg’s residential market has 824 360 properties. Of these properties, 13% are valued under R300 000 and 25% are valued between R300 000 and R600 000 – these are the two most affordable market segments and, together, they are quite sizable. More than a quarter of the residential properties in Johannesburg are government subsidised (27%). The bulk of entry level properties are GSP (72%) while 59% of the properties in the affordable market segment are GSP. The metro has a more active resale market than the new build market – 70% of all transactions in 2020 were in the resale market which has proven to be a key entry point for first-time home buyers/owners. However, in 2020 there was a 1.8% drop in resale transactions compared to 2019 and this is likely due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. With an average residential property value of R1 217 853, housing finance plays a major role in Johannesburg – 68% of all transactions in 2020 were bonded, and Standard Bank issued the most mortgages.

With support from the Cities Support Programme of National Treasury, the Citymark project undertakes analysis of South Africa’s residential property markets, with a particular focus on the lower end of the market. Utilising title deeds data obtained from Lightstone Pty Ltd, the analysis separates the market into five segments, allowing the careful examination of the differentiated performance of the entry level (under R300 000), affordable (R300 000 – R600 000), conventional (R600 000 – R900 000), high-end (R900 000 – R1.2m) and luxury (over R1.2m) markets.