Property Brief – May 2025

The latest BetterBond Property Brief - May 2025 is out!

The South African residential property market is showing signs of renewed stability, with the latest BetterBond index recording a 2.2% year-on-year increase in home loan applications for the 12 months to April 2025. This marks a strong recovery from the 15% decline recorded just a year ago and reflects a more favourable monetary policy environment.

The average home purchase price rose marginally to R1.6 million in April – 1.6% higher than Q1’s average – while first-time buyer prices dipped slightly to R1.28 million. This decline, combined with easing deposit requirements, could boost affordability and demand in the months ahead. Notably, the average deposit for first-time buyers has dropped nearly 9% year-on-year to R175,000.

Regionally, the Eastern Cape now leads the country with a home loan approval ratio of 83.9%, surpassing the Western Cape. All regions have seen improvements in approval rates over the past four years, signalling broader accessibility to finance. However, building activity remains mixed. The Western Cape surged ahead with a 24% increase in residential completions, while Gauteng saw a 30% decline.

The full list of data points included in this Property Brief is as follows:

In the Economist’s Notes, Dr Roelof Botha comments on the outlook for monetary policy, noting the strong case for a rate cut, given CPI’s 2.7% reading in March and PPI at just 0.5%. With inflation below the SARB’s lower target and the launch of the second phase of Operation Vulindlela promising infrastructure-led growth, there’s cautious optimism for stronger economic momentum ahead.

If you would like to review all the issues of the BetterBond Property Brief, you can download them all here. You can download the Property Brief - May 2025 below: