Property

South Africans are rushing to buy these homes

Kirsten Minnaar • 9 December 2025

Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs are experiencing an intense seller’s market, with demand vastly outstripping supply and well-priced properties attracting fierce competition and selling rapidly, often above asking price.

Desperate buyers are clamouring for the few available properties, leading to multiple-offer situations and prices being driven above asking figures.

According to area specialists from Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty, the current climate presents a golden opportunity for sellers in this bracket to capitalise on the intense competition.

“Nikki Lombard and I continue to struggle to secure stock in the Southern Suburbs,” said area specialist for Lakeside, Kirstenhof, Bergvliet and Zwaanswyk, Dawn Bloch.

“Each time we launch a property, we are inundated by enquiries. The stock situation remains dire.”

This demand was starkly illustrated by the recent sale of a property in Lincoln Fields Crescent in Lakeside. The renovated, open-plan home generated 70 enquiries, resulting in 43 viewings within just a few days.

“We received six offers, three of which were cash and at the full asking price,” Bloch revealed. “This forced us into an auction-type scenario where we had to ask the three cash buyers to improve their offers.”

“The property ultimately sold for a commanding R3.83 million, a significant price for its modest size, and interest continued even after the ‘Under Offer’ banner was placed, including from overseas-based buyers.”

The fervent demand is not limited to freestanding homes. Bloch recently concluded the sale of an apartment at Glen Alpine on Ladies Mile in Bergvliet without it even officially hitting the market.

This highlights a growing trend of buyers frustrated by the lack of options, who are moving proactively to secure properties.

“A buyer I had engaged with three years ago contacted me, having sold her house and seeking a secure, well-managed apartment to downscale to,” Bloch explained.

“I mentioned I was advising sellers on pre-market renovations for the Glen Alpine apartment. Knowing the stock situation, she insisted on seeing it immediately.”

The buyer fell in love with the generously sized 111 m² apartment, which features a rare 27 m² private garden and is in a pet-friendly complex. She subsequently made a full asking price offer of R2.7 million.

Cape buyers seek value

These cases also underscore two key market trends – the exceptional value of well-presented, spacious apartments and a growing demographic of single women, both young and retired, seeking safe, quality living environments.

“Retirement villages are often beyond the financial reach of many, and there is a significant need for secure, well-managed complexes that cater to this demographic,” Bloch noted.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty’s Nikki Lombard said these successful sales are a testament to a proactive and comprehensive approach required in today’s market. “It’s crucial for the market to see what we are achieving,” she said.

“We go the extra mile for both sellers and buyers, whether it’s assisting an overseas-based seller with coordinating renovations or guiding a buyer through their first move in 26 years.”

The message from the frontline is clear – for sellers in Cape Town’s middle-market Southern Suburbs, conditions have rarely been more favourable.

With buyer demand drastically outstripping supply, well-priced and well-presented properties are sparking bidding wars and achieving top-tier prices in record time.

Seeff Property Group chairman Samuel Seeff also told Daily Investor that in 2026, he expects semigration to continue to the Cape and coastal areas, as well as surrounding areas such as the winelands.

Lifestyle migration from Cape Town to the winelands, coastal and country hotspots will continue for those who can afford to do so, he said.

This includes Cape Town and surrounding areas such as Paarl, Stellenbosch, smaller towns of the Overberg, and the Garden Route towns such as George, but also retirees to areas such as Hermanus, Knysna, and Plettenberg Bay.