Cape Town - Millennials now comprise up to 42% of all property purchasers, especially in the main urban areas, according to Lightstone, which provides information, valuations and market intelligence on properties across South Africa.
Lightstone data shows that while Cape Town is more expensive, millennials are nonetheless investing, making up over a third of all sales in the last year.
Seeff Property Group estate agent Ross Levin said the millennial buyer’s market was predominantly below R1.5 million and they were usually the under-35-year age bracket.
Levin, who is Seeff’s Atlantic Seaboard licensee, said: “You can even find the odd apartment in the sought-after CBD area for between R1.2m and R1.5m.”
Deeds Office data showed that 39% of sales over the last year in the Cape Town CBD were to millennials.
He said other popular City choices included Northern Suburbs areas such as Brackenfell and Kraaifontein, where you could find plenty of sectional title property below R1.5m.
Levin was speaking ahead of Thursday’s release of the Statistics SA residential property price index (RPPI) for December 2022.
The RPPI showed annual national residential property price inflation was 5.3% in December 2022, down from 5.4% in November 2022.
Stats SA economic statistics deputy director-general Joe de Beer said the main contributors to the 5.3% annual national inflation rate were Western Cape and Gauteng.
Western Cape increased by 8% year-on-year, and contributed 2.3 percentage points, while Gauteng increased by 2.6% year-on-year, and contributed 1.2 percentage points.
StatsSA said that the RPPI for all metropolitan areas increased by 3.8% between December 2021 and December 2022.
Meanwhile, Harcourts South Africa chief executive Richard Gray said with rising interest rates, load shedding, pending national elections in 2024 and rising municipal rates, the decision about whether to buy or rent is becoming increasingly complex.
“Political uncertainty can lead to fluctuations in the property market, particularly in the lead up to an election.
“However, the long-term fundamentals of the property market remain strong, and it’s important not to make any rash decisions based on short-term fluctuations,” Gray said.