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- South Africa
Figures maintained by INTRIC
Live figures for South Africa — rental yields, mortgage rates, price per square metre and transfer costs — alongside buying guides for the market.
Market snapshot
The South African market, in figures
| Market | Rental yield | Mortgage rate | Price / sqft | Transfer tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
South Africa In briefOne of the world's most open property markets for foreigners, strong USD value and Cape Town demand, balanced against rand volatility, a 50% non-resident loan cap, and exchange-control rules for repatriation | 9.9% | 10.3% | $61 | 8.0% |
Gold rule marks the strongest figure in each column.
Prices converted to USD at today's rate.
Figures are indicative, drawn from INTRIC's own market data, and not a substitute for professional advice.
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Compare this market across every metric.
Guides for these markets
Published by INTRIC
Country guide
South Africa Investor Guide
One of the world's most open property markets for foreigners, strong USD value and Cape Town demand, balanced against rand volatility, a 50% non-resident loan cap, and exchange-control rules for repatriation
South Africa · 15 min read
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City guide
Cape Town City Guide
Cape Town is South Africa's second-largest city and legislative capital, wrapped around the City Bowl beneath Table Mountain and fringed by the Atlantic Seaboard's beaches (Clifton, Camps Bay, Sea Point). It is consistently the country's strongest residential market: Western Cape house prices rose roughly 8–10% in the year to 2025 versus a national average nearer 4–5%. The dominant demand driver is 'semigration', affluent South Africans relocating from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal to the Western Cape for lifestyle, governance and safety, layered on strong international demand and an outsized tourism economy. The city is also South Africa's leading technology hub ('Silicon Cape', 450+ tech firms incl. Amazon's African operations), underpinning professional rental demand, and one of the world's largest Airbnb markets (the V&A Waterfront alone draws ~24m visitors a year). National load-shedding, severe through 2023, had largely ceased by 2025 (200+ blackout-free days), though most premium properties still run backup solar/inverters. For foreign investors, ownership is open, non-residents buy freely; the main constraint is exchange-control financing (typically max ~50% local mortgage, the balance brought in from offshore). There is NO property-based golden visa, buying grants no residency. The rand is volatile, which lowers euro entry costs but adds currency risk to returns.
South Africa · 8 min read
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City guide
Durban City Guide
Durban is South Africa's third-largest city and the warm-water gateway of the Indian Ocean coast, wrapped around the busiest port in Africa. Its signature is the Golden Mile, a long beachfront promenade of surf beaches and the uShaka Marine World complex, set against a humid, year-round-swimming climate that makes KwaZulu-Natal the country's domestic-holiday capital. At roughly half the per-square-metre cost of Cape Town's Atlantic Seaboard, Durban reads as a value-and-yield market rather than a capital-gains market. The investment story of the last decade has been a clear migration of money north of the old centre to the uMhlanga / La Lucia 'New Durban' growth node, anchored by the giant Gateway mall, the uMhlanga Ridge business district and the emerging Sibaya Coastal Precinct, which now functions as the de-facto premium CBD. Domestic 'semigration' from Gauteng to the KZN coast continues to feed demand here and up the N2 toward Ballito. Honesty matters: the boom is geographically uneven. The historic inner city and parts of the beachfront fringe have declined through service strain and the aftermath of the 2021 unrest and 2022 floods, while a multi-billion-rand regeneration (Point Waterfront, Rivertown) is still a work in progress. The reliable returns sit in the northern suburbs and the Berea ridge (Morningside, Musgrave, Glenwood), where strong rental demand and established schools offset slow headline price growth. Foreigners buy freely (non-residents ~50% local finance, exchange control); there is NO property golden visa. Investors come to Durban for income and lifestyle, not the appreciation curve.
South Africa · 8 min read
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Neighborhood guide
Atlantic Seaboard (Sea Point/Camps Bay/Clifton)
Cape Town's glamorous coastal strip, beaches, promenade living and beachfront fine dining at the city's highest prices
Cape Town, South Africa · 12 min read
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Neighborhood guide
City Bowl (Gardens / CBD)
Cape Town's compact, cosmopolitan downtown, heritage streets, the best dining in the country and a tech-fuelled rental market beneath Table Mountain
Cape Town, South Africa · 11 min read
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