The province of Gauteng has emerged as the preferred location for people owning multiple properties, according to Lightstone.
Data reveals that the highest percentage of owners chose to buy their first property in Gauteng; 31% of owners chose to purchase their second property in the Western Cape, whereas 26% of owners chose to buy in KwaZulu-Natal.
“Owners in all three provinces include young adults, middle-aged buyers and mature buyers, depending on the area,” says Hayley Ivins-Downes, Lightstone head of sales.
She explains that these multiple property owners purchased properties priced between R250,000 to +R3m. The following table shows where additional properties were bought nationwide.
| Province | Number of property owners |
| Eastern Cape | 76 |
| Free State | 30 |
| Gauteng | 989 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 442 |
| Limpopo | 29 |
| Mpumalanga | 50 |
| North West | 56 |
| Northern Cape | 2 |
| Western Cape | 489 |
Top suburbs are Bryanston, Morningside and Moreleta Park in Gauteng; the Strand Golf Club, Richwood and Sandown in the Western Cape; and the South Coast towns of Margate, Amanzimtoti and Ramsgate in KwaZulu-Natal.
| Suburb and province | Number of property owners |
| Amanzimtoti, KZN | 58 |
| Bryanston, Gauteng | 82 |
| Margate, KZN | 63 |
| Moreleta Park, Gauteng | 32 |
| Morningside, Gauteng | 65 |
| Ramsgate, KZN | 29 |
| Richwood, WC | 34 |
| Sandown, WC | 55 |
| Strand Golf Club, WC | 24 |
Over the past 10 years, properties in the top locations have shown growth of up to 23% for freehold properties in Sandown in the Western Cape.
| Suburb and province | Freehold (%) growth | Sectional title (%) growth |
| Amanzimtoti, KZN | 3% | 3% |
| Bryanston, Gauteng | 2% | 3% |
| Bryanston West, Gauteng | 5% | 4% |
| Margate, KZN | 5% | 4% |
| Moreleta Park, Gauteng | 4% | 4% |
| Morningside, Gauteng | 3% | 1% |
| Ramsgate, KZN | 7% | 7% |
| Richwood, WC | 9% | 12% |
| Sandown, WC | 23% | 6% |
| Strand Golf Club, WC | 4% |
Gauteng is a sought after location
Ivins-Downes says that 54% of owners who purchased their first property in the Western Cape chose Gauteng to invest in their second property.
According to Ivin-Downes explains that 13% and 12% bought a second property in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, respectively. Furthermore, 63% of those who bought in KwaZulu-Natal chose Gauteng to buy a second property, whereas 17% purchased in the Western Cape.
“We noticed that owners with more than two properties in KwaZulu-Natal (52%) and the Western Cape (47%) prefer investing in Gauteng.”
Over the last five years, 3,473 owners purchased additional properties in the top suburbs in Gauteng.
Bryanston (including Bryanston West) recorded the highest number of owners (1,604), followed by Moreleta Park (974) and Morningside (895).
In Bryanston, average property prices for freehold homes came down slightly in 2020, reaching R3.9m from R4.15m in 2016. In Bryanston West, the average property price was R3.434m in 2020. However, the average price peaked to R6.1m in 2019.
Sectional title properties in Bryanston and Bryanston West had average prices of R1.4m and R2.5m, respectively in 2020.
Average prices for sectional title properties in Morningside fell to R1.605m in 2020 from (R1.86m in 2016), whereas freestanding homes recorded R3.85m.
In Moreleta Park, the average price for sectional title units was R1.21m in 2020, and R2.1m for freehold properties.
According to Statistics South Africa, Gauteng has the largest share of the population followed by KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape.
Nearly 15,2m people (25.8%) live in Gauteng, with most international migrants (47.5%) settling in this province.
Considered as the economic hub of the country, Gauteng offers better economic opportunities, thus making it an attractive home location.
Gauteng was leading in 2020, recording the highest number of first-time property buyers.
Together with the Western Cape, data shows that the two provinces had more buyers purchasing properties for the first time over the last two years, according to Lightstone.
Lightstone data shows that 57% of individuals who own two properties prefer to own these in the same province, whereas 44% of two or more properties are owned by a private person across provinces.
“Understanding this level of analytical detail can help property and portfolio managers in the location choices of their property investment decisions,” adds Ivins-Downes.
Edited by fellow-Safrean Gudrun Kaiser
