South Africans who want to rent a property can expect to pay on average R8,654 a month, according to the latest rental property index.
According to PayProp Rental Index, the average rent for property in South Africa is R8,654 in the first quarter of 2024, this is R301 more than the average rent for the same period last year.
The rental index is a quarterly guide that outlines trends in the SA residential rental market which is compiled using transactional data collected by PayProp.
Data from the index also revealed the provinces that have the highest and lowest rental prices in the country.
According to the index, the average rent in the Western Cape is still the highest in SA at R10,300. This means that the Western Cape is R1,000 ahead of their nearest competitor.
For Q12024, rental prices in the Western Cape grew by 4.3% year-on-year which is above the national average of 3.8%.
With an average rental price of R6,301, the North-West is the province with the lowest rental prices.
Despite having the lowest average rental prices in the country, the North West experienced 9.8% rental growth, the highest in the country.
The Eastern Cape returned the third-fastest rental growth of any province despite Q12024 5.6% year-on-year growth being lower than the 7.3% that was recorded in Q4 2023.
The average rent in the province now stands at R7,021 which is still the third lowest in SA but R371 more than a year previously.
In the Free State the average rental price is R6,927 which is R579 more than Q12023. Rent increased by 9.1% year-on-year in the province which is the second fastest in the country.
At R6,927, the Free State has the second lowest average rental price in SA.
Rental growth in Gauteng is 3.5% for Q12024 which is below the national average of 3.8% and slightly lower than the 3.6% growth that was reported in the last quarter.
The average price of rent in the Gauteng province was R8,943 in Q12024. Gauteng could soon be the third province to pass an average rent of R9,000.
For the KwaZulu-Natal, the average cost of rent is R8,770 for Q12024 which is lower than the average cost of rent for Q12023 which was R8,801. This means that rental growth dropped by 0.4%.
Despite having the third most expensive province for renters until Q32023, the space between KZN and the top three is getting wider.
According to the index, Limpopo experienced above-average rental growth throughout 2023 which continued into 2024, recording 4.8% growth in Q1.
The average rent in Limpopo reached R8 027, a R370 year-on-year increase which pushed the average price of rent above R8,000 for the first time.
Mpumalanga also experienced above-average growth in 2023 with 6.1% rental in Q42023, however, rental growth dropped to 1.2% in Q1 2024.
The Mpumalanga province has the fifth most expensive rent in the country with the average price of rent standing at R8,369.
In 2023, rental growth in the Northern Cape province dropped from double digits in Q12023 to 5% in Q42023.
Rents in the Northern Cape stood at an average of R9, 274 which is R26 more than a year earlier.
According to the index, rental prices in the province is still the second highest in the country but the province could be at risk of being overtaken by Gauteng if current trends continue.
IOL Property