Finding the right stock is the biggest challenge Estate Agents face when dealing with high net worth individuals. They typically want homes in gated Estates or on large private plots, away from congestion but close to airports, other amenities and lifestyle attractions such as golf courses, top schools, wine estates, beaches, and marinas.
According to a poll of high net worth clients by Lightstone's sister company, Prop Data, earlier this year, 28% of Estate Agents said that finding the right stock was key, followed by managing high expectations (25%) of clients. Understanding lifestyle priorities came in at 8%, and security and peace of mind was non-negotiable. Features such as biometric access, CCTV, electric fencing, and 24/7 armed response are expected.
Gated communities with strict access control and professional Estate management add reassurance, as Lightstone's assessment of properties which were sold for more than R4 million shows:
- Estates account for 42% of property stock.
- The Western Cape is home to more than 50% of stock and sales.
- Older buyers purchase the more expensive homes.
- The more expensive the homes get, the higher the proportion owned by non-natural buyers (trusts, corporations, companies, CCs) and older buyers.
Freehold properties make up just under half (48%) of properties valued above R4 million, while Estate properties account for 42%. The remaining 10% are in Sectional Schemes. In contrast, the lower price bands are dominated by Freehold properties, with progressively fewer Sectional Scheme and Estate homes as you move towards the affordable end of the market.
Stock above R4 million by property type in 2025
A breakdown of price bands above R4 million shows a relatively consistent split between Freehold, Sectional Scheme, and Estate properties. However, Freehold properties dominate in the R10 million+ plus category, particularly in traditional high-value suburbs where private security firms patrol boomed streets, offering residents a level of safety typically associated with Estate and Sectional Scheme developments.
Property stock above R4 million by type and price band in 2025
It's the provincial breakdown that is most revealing. The Western Cape dominates each R1 million band above R4 million on an incremental basis (see graph below). In the R10 million+ band, the Western Cape accounts for nearly 70% of all properties. Overall, the Western Cape accounts for 51% of stock above R4 million, followed by Gauteng at 33% and KwaZulu-Natal at 11%. The remaining six provinces together account for just 5%.
Stock above R4 million by province in 2025
Despite low numbers, Limpopo is the property inflation outlier
The Western Cape accounted for 54% (28 634) of all property sales (52 852) above R4 million in 2025. Gauteng was next at 30%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at just under 11%. The remaining six provinces accounted for 5% of sales above R4 million.
Yet Limpopo, which recorded just 300 sales (0.6%) in this band, had the highest annual property inflation at around 6.8%. This suggests that strong demand for a relatively small number of properties in this category has driven prices up more aggressively than elsewhere in the country. Please read the lead story in this newsletter, Limpopo premium property market sales on the up, for more on residential property in South Africa's northernmost province.
Sales per province in 2025
Age of buyer versus non-natural buyers in 2025
The higher the price band, the greater the proportion of non-natural buyers. They account for 49% of the sales above R10 million, compared to 25% in the R4 million-R5 million price band.
Similarly, the graph below demonstrates that if non-natural buyers are excluded, the proportion of buyers below 50 decreases as the property values increase.
Age of buyer
