South Africa real estate market — prices, rental yield and trend
- Average price: $1,149 / m²
- 12-month price change (USD): 13.4%
- Transaction cost: 14%
- Bubble-risk band: moderate
- Price basis: national average
South Africa is one of the faster-moving markets Glopra tracks: the average residential square metre now costs $1,149, +13.4% in dollar terms over the last twelve months. That makes it the 80th most expensive of the 83 markets in the set. In local currency the same twelve months read +7.9%; the 5.5-point gap is the exchange rate, not the housing market.
What a buyer pays in South Africa
The $1,149 figure is a national average across all residential property types, which flattens a wide spread — the capital typically runs far above it and small towns far below. Buying costs — transfer tax or stamp duty, notary, registration and agency — come to about 14% of the price here. On a 100 m² apartment at the average price that is roughly $16,089 on top of the $114,920 purchase price. That is above the 10.2% median across the set — the entry cost is part of the investment case here. Inside South Africa we also track Cape Town separately, where the average is $2,442 — 112.5% above the national figure.
What it earns
We publish a price for South Africa but no rental yield. No public rent figure exists for this market at the same geographic level and from the same source as the price, and we do not estimate one: a yield built from two unrelated sources would describe no real property.
How the tax works. Progressive: a non-resident's South African rental income is taxed on the ordinary scale from 18%, with the ZAR 17,820 primary rebate and no flat expense allowance, which gives 9–22% across typical rent levels. The upper end of 25% covers the case where the rebate is denied to a non-resident — the Act does not appear to require that, but SARS has not confirmed it, so local confirmation is advisable. Source: sars.gov.za.
Where the price sits against its own history
Prices are +3.7% over five years and +24.6% over ten in local terms. Today’s level is within 6.2% of the country’s own long-run trend, so the price is close to where its own history would put it. Glopra’s bubble-risk score for South Africa is 29 out of 100 — moderate risk. Of the 58 markets scored, 55 read higher. This is a simplified reading: fewer than three index components are available for this market, so treat it as indicative rather than comparable with fully scored markets.
South Africa house price index, 2016–2026 (2016 = 100)
| Year | Index |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 100 |
| 2017 | 104.1 |
| 2018 | 107.8 |
| 2019 | 110.5 |
| 2020 | 113.1 |
| 2021 | 120.7 |
| 2022 | 125.9 |
| 2023 | 127.8 |
| 2024 | 128.8 |
| 2025 | 133.8 |
| 2026 | 139 |
Rebased to 100 in 2016, the index stands at 139 in 2026. The series is in local currency, and the twelve-month numbers above show how much of that a dollar buyer actually keeps.
Who can buy in South Africa
Full freehold, few restrictions. That is the rule a foreign buyer meets first, not legal advice — check the current position locally before you commit.
How this figure is built
The price figure for South Africa is built from asking prices from listings. It was last refreshed on 2026-09-28. We rate our confidence in this market’s data low — treat the figures as indicative and check them before acting. We recompute every market the same way; a figure that fails our checks is suppressed, not guessed.
Sources: StatsSA RPPI P0160 April 2026 (primer PDF, Table 3) · statssa.gov.za · globalpropertyguide.com. Snapshot: 2026-09-28.
Latest South Africa market analysis
- South Africa Raised Its Repo Rate to 7.25% Even After the Economy Shrank in the Second Quarter — 2026-09-24
- South African Building Plans Rose 6.3% This Year While Completed Buildings Fell 10.7% — 2026-09-18
- South African Home Loans Granted Rose 4.1% in July as the Deposit Burden Eased — 2026-08-15
Related markets: Cape Town