Residential property sales volumes in Cape Town edged ahead of Johannesburg in 2021 and have outsold South Africa's economic capital since then.
When it comes to the average price paid, Cape Town outperforms Johannesburg in all six years analysed by Lightstone, from 2019 to 2024, and homeowners spent more to buy their houses in Cape Town than in Johannesburg - and the gap has widened.
The data confirms the relative strength of Cape Town's residential property market (map above) when compared to Johannesburg in recent years.
In addition to sales volumes in Cape Town edging ahead of Johannesburg in 2021 (see graph below), the Mother City's sales volumes in 2024 were higher than in pre-Covid 2019, while Johannesburg's numbers were down from 2019.
Sales volumes: 2019 - 2024
Average price for residential properties sold: 2019 - 2024
The total sales value of properties in Cape Town has been higher since 2019, but the gap has widened since 2022. In 2024, the value of sales of properties in Cape Town was just over R81 000 million, up from nearly R74 000 million in 2021, while in Johannesburg it fell to just over R47 000 million from R59 000 million in 2021.
Total sales value in millions: 2019 - 2024
Where are the buyers coming from?
The percentage of buyers in Cape Town who had previously had a property in the city (and were Natural Persons) has dropped from 77% recorded in 2021, although the 72% recorded in 2024 was marginally up on the 71% in 2023.
Buyers who previously bought in Cape Town
But the picture is more revealing when we look at buyers from outside Cape Town but still within the Western Cape, and then at buyers from other provinces. The graph below tells us the percentage of buyers from other towns in the Western Cape is on the rise, while the second graph shows that buyers of property in Cape Town who came from other provinces jumped from around 16% in 2021 to 19% in 2022, and then to just over 20% in 2023 before coming back to marginally under 20% in 2024.
Buyers who previously bought in the Western Cape outside of Cape Town
Buyers from other provinces
Top suburbs - sales volumes, average sales value and total sales value
The top seller in terms of volumes was The Hague, a section of Delft, a large township adjacent to the Cape Town International Airport. More than 1 000 properties were sold at an average of just more than R133 000, while Sea Point was next in volume of sales at just under 750 properties, at an average sales price of R3,8m. Next was Sandown in Blouberg at 590 sales at an average of R1.8m.
Of the top ten suburbs in terms of number of sales, four were under R1m average sales price, with just two under R500 000 average sales price.
Llandundo tops the list at R26m when it comes to average price sales, followed by Bishopscourt and Goedehoop Estate. Sea Point, Fresnaye and Cape Town's centre are the areas which have recorded the most in terms of total sales value.
Top selling Estates
Sitari Country Estate is the province's big seller in 2024, with 280 sales at an average of R2.9m. Burgendy Estate in Milnerton was next (261 sales and R1.5m average sales price, with Stellendale Village in Kuilsrivier third (186 sales and R900 000 average sales price).
The highest average sales price of R26,7m in 2024, where there were at least three sales, was recorded in Silverhurst Estate just off the Constantia Main Road in the southern suburbs.
