For some years now Joburg’s story has been negative: crime, hijacked buildings, potholes, decay, power outages and more lately, water shortages. But times could be changing.
A high-profile mayoral campaign featuring well-known political leaders from various parties has focused hearts and minds on how to fix what is wrong with Johannesburg, which also goes by the names Joburg and Jozi.
The mayoral campaign comes at a time of growing enthusiasm by private investors and organisations such as Jozi My Jozi (JMJ), a non-profit whose purpose is to “connect and empower those committed to sustainable solutions for Johannesburg’s inner city” – from the three tiers of government to individuals, civil society and the private sector. It seeks to unite people “across all sectors” and “spark a ripple of positive change, shaping a brighter, more resilient future for Jozi and beyond”.
And judging by recent media coverage in Fair Lady (left, above) in an article entitled, How Jozi is getting its groove back and another (right, above) entitled Hope is Contagious! The Joburg CBD story we’re missing by Good Things Guy in his online newsletter, progress is being made.
And what could all this mean for the property market in the Joburg CBD? The performance of its residential, office, retail and industrial space has been, at best, mixed over the past few years.
While the inner city still plays an important economic role, its property market has been shaped by structural shifts. Many businesses, homeowners and renters fled the “crime and grime” which enveloped the city over past decades, and while the CBD’s growth rate lags suburbs in greater Johannesburg, its proportion of negative sales is higher.
The table below indicates the challenge facing the city. Joburg’s CBD’s growth rate and proportion of negative sales is significantly worse than the areas outside of the CBD.
According to data analysed by Lightstone, there are approximately 15 500 properties registered at the Deeds Office in Braamfontein, Joubert Park, Doornfontein, New Doornfontein, Johannesburg Central, Newtown, City and Suburban and Marshalltown. This total includes each unit in a sectional scheme property.
The 2 050 transactions between 2021 – 2025 was slightly up on the 1 900 transactions between 2016 – 2020, but the number of properties covered by these transactions was significantly up, from 2 250 to 3 250. One third of the properties transferred in the last five years involved AFHCO, as either a buyer or seller. Atkinson House in the inner-city is a prime example of repurposing surplus office stock into affordable housing – in this case, 485 studio units ranging from 11 to 25 square meters. Founded in 1996, AFHCO remains the leading property company in affordable housing and commercial property in the Johannesburg inner-city.
As evidenced by the stories in Fair Lady (March/April 2026) and Good Things Guys (March 7, 2026), the Johannesburg CBD property market is undergoing a gradual transition. While office and some retail properties face structural challenges, residential conversions, mixed-use redevelopment and continued demand for logistics facilities present opportunities for repositioning and long-term regeneration of the area.
All in all, South Africa’s economic hub could be at a fork in the road, with better times sign posted. Jozi may not yet be “doing just fine”, as Orville Peck sang in “City of Gold”, but perhaps soon it will be.
