Goodbye Johannesburg – South Africans are semigrating to these Western Cape hotspots

South Africans are semigrating away from Johannesburg toward Western Cape towns like George and Mossel Bay, where strong infrastructure, coastal lifestyles and affordability are fuelling above-average property growth.

This was revealed in a new report by Lightstone. It showed that, over the last five years, South Africa added just over 150,000 new residential properties in the over R500,000 property segment.

This represents an increase of 4.7%, bringing properties within this segment to just below 3.3 million units.

In its analysis, Lightstone excluded Unclassified, Township, and Affordable areas, as well as sales below R500,000, from consideration.

This is due to the prevalence of subsidised transfers, transactions not aligned with market value, and a backlog in property registrations within this category.

Lightstone revealed that Gauteng and the Western Cape accounted for just under 73% of the additional volumes.

The Western Cape recorded the highest growth rate as a percentage of stock in the country at 6.2%, significantly higher than the national average of 4.7%. Gauteng’s 4.9% growth rate was slightly ahead of the national average.

Mpumalanga and the North West also experienced above-average growth of between 5.5% and 6%.

However, the other five provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State and Limpopo, were below the national average.

“The country’s top five municipal districts included three from the Western Cape,” said Lightstone’s Managing Executive of Real Estate, Hayley Ivins-Downes.

KwaZulu-Natal’s iLembe district – which encompasses Ballito and Salt Rock – ranked first, and Limpopo’s Capricorn district, which includes Polokwane, placed third.

“Despite iLembe leading the rankings, KwaZulu-Natal’s overall growth rate remained relatively modest at 2.9%, while Limpopo’s growth only slightly outperformed the national average,” Ivins-Downes said.

The table below shows residential property growth by district in South Africa, according to Lightstone.

Semigration trend stays strong

Ivins-Downes explained that South Africa’s semigration trend continued to push development within the Western Cape.

“George, Mossel Bay and the surrounding areas are attracting new residential development and investment due to their combination of an appealing coastal lifestyle, strong infrastructure and relative affordability.”

According to Ivins-Downes, this trend reflects a broader national pattern of semigration toward well-serviced smaller towns.

This has turned them into vibrant residential and investment markets in the Western Cape. The area around Mossel Bay was, proportionately, the big winner in the Eden District, with 675 (46%) new properties added.

George (11%), Keurboomstrand (9%) near Plettenberg Bay, Mossel Bay and nearby Groot Brakrivier (6% each) all grew above the national average.

Meanwhile, Knysna, Herolds Bay (outside George) and Sedgefield all grew just under the national average.

In volume terms, though, George and Mossel Bay and surrounds were well ahead of other towns in Eden at approximately 2,200 new properties each.

Lightstone noted that the West Coast’s growth pointed to the growing popularity of small towns and villages.

Laaiplek led the way with 31% growth, though from a low base, and sits right at the intersection of affordability, coastal lifestyle, accessibility, and growth potential.

Developers see it as “what Langebaan used to be” before prices escalated. Laaiplek is on the west side of Velddrif, and its name is derived from its function, “a place where one can offload the catch of the day on the pier”.

As it happened, though, Langebaan’s growth (15%) continued, with 1,260 properties added. Darling, Yzerfontein, Piketberg and Velddrif all recorded growth rates above the national average.