The 10 most popular suburbs for young, middle-class homebuyers in SA

South Africa’s young, middle-class is buying fewer houses than it did six years ago, but they are generally spending more.

GAUTENG LEADS IN SUBURBAN HOTSPOTS

Most of the suburbs that SA’s young, middle-class prefer are in Gauteng. This is due to affordability and more economic opportunity. Gauteng has a high per capita income and disposable income compared to other provinces in the country. It is also home to the major mining houses, banks, law firms, and accounting companies. It is South Africa’s foremost economic hub.

Most property purchases by young, middle-class South Africans were made in Gauteng. According to the Seeff Property Group, many areas in Gauteng are more affordable than areas in other provinces of the country. This includes Johannesburg and is applicable to both buying and renting.

“Greater Johannesburg continues to experience the highest influx of people migrating to urban centres in search of economic opportunities, and they continue to find good value.”- Seeff Property Group

Affordability is a key appeal of the Johannesburg property market. Nearly 77% of this year’s transactions have been below the R1.5 million price mark, with almost half (47%) of these transactions below R700 000.

SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN YOUNG HOMEBUYERS

According to Lightstone Property’s data, there was a 25% decline in SA’s young, middle-class (individuals aged between 26 and 35) property purchases over the last six years.

According to Business Tech, the main reasons why fewer of SA’s young, middle-class is buying property, include increased cost of living and high interest rates. These factors make it difficult for many young professionals to afford buying property. Interestingly, the ones buying property, are paying more.   

In 2023, 36% of them paid between R1 million and R3 million, compared to only 29% in 2018. Additionally, the proportion of homes priced between R250 000 and R500 000 dropped from 34% in 2018 to 25% in 2023.

TOP 10 SUBURBS IN TERMS OF SALES

The majority of sales in 2023 and 2024 occurred in Impumelelo, Sky City, and Belhar.

Impumelelo is a housing development project in Devon in the Sedibeng Municipality of Gauteng. Sky City, also a housing development project, is in Ekurhuleni, and Belhar is in Cape Town. Belhar is a small town and forms part of the Tygerberg area.

Based on the number of transactions, these are the top 10 suburbs for young professionals buying property: