
Here’s Who Is Actually Buying Homes In South Africa
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Esteani Marx - Head of Real Estate at Lightstone Property.
Although domestic and global headwinds are persisting into 2023, South Africa’s residential property is showing pockets of progress and opportunity, says Hayley Ivins-Downes, the head of digital at Lightstone.
Ivines-Downes said that the data analytics company found rising interest rates, socio-political tensions, and a limp economy hampered by an unstable electricity supply dampened consumers’ spirit.
Despite the slight dampening, the most recent comprehensive data from Lightstone points to certain categories of buyers carrying the market with Mid value and High-value segments carrying the market at 37% and 32%, respectively, in 2021 – a consistent trend for many years.
Ivins-Downes said that: “Luxury category buyers were back to 12% in 2021, the highest recorded in this category and last matched in 2015, and buyers in the High category hit 32% in 2021, the highest score recorded in the past 14 years.”
Low-value buyers, unfortunately, dropped below 20% in 2021, said Ivins-Downes.
This perhaps suggests fewer new entrants into the market – an unwelcome development given the country’s demographics – with market activity dominated by the Mid and High values, said the head of digital.
Although domestic and global headwinds are persisting into 2023, South Africa’s residential property is showing pockets of progress and opportunity, says Hayley Ivins-Downes, the head of digital at Lightstone.
Ivines-Downes said that the data analytics company found rising interest rates, socio-political tensions, and a limp economy hampered by an unstable electricity supply dampened consumers’ spirit.
Despite the slight dampening, the most recent comprehensive data from Lightstone points to certain categories of buyers carrying the market with Mid value and High-value segments carrying the market at 37% and 32%, respectively, in 2021 – a consistent trend for many years.
Ivins-Downes said that: “Luxury category buyers were back to 12% in 2021, the highest recorded in this category and last matched in 2015, and buyers in the High category hit 32% in 2021, the highest score recorded in the past 14 years.”
Low-value buyers, unfortunately, dropped below 20% in 2021, said Ivins-Downes.
This perhaps suggests fewer new entrants into the market – an unwelcome development given the country’s demographics – with market activity dominated by the Mid and High values, said the head of digital.

