Young South Africans rushing to buy property in the richest province

South Africa’s young population is driving rising housing demand in Gauteng, where first-time buyers are increasingly drawn by stronger job opportunities and affordable property prices.

This is according to the Pam Golding Property group’s chief executive, Dr Andrew Golding, who said South Africa’s youth-driven population growth is once again intensifying its impact on the country’s housing market.

Gauteng is emerging as one of the biggest beneficiaries as younger buyers increasingly gravitate towards urban economic hubs in search of jobs, lifestyle convenience and affordable entry points into property ownership.

With the median age of South Africans now just 29 years, and the average age of first-time buyers 35 years, Golding said the country’s demographic profile is creating powerful long-term demand for housing.

This is particularly the case among first-time buyers who are gaining their first foothold in the residential property market.

Reflecting this shift, the national average age of South African home buyers declined to 40 years during the January to April 2026 period – one year younger than a year earlier.

Notably, Golding pointed out that Gauteng continues to absorb the largest share of South Africa’s internal migration.

According to Stats SA, the province’s population increased from 9.9 million in 2002 to 16.1 million in 2025, an increase of more than six million people over 23 years.

“While public attention has largely focused on semigration to the Western Cape, Gauteng remains the country’s biggest population magnet, particularly for younger South Africans seeking employment opportunities.”

“This demographic momentum is now feeding directly into housing demand.” Ooba Home Loans reported that first-time buyer appetite in Johannesburg strengthened to 44.2% of total applications received between January and April 2026.

Meanwhile, in the more affordable Gauteng South and East, first-time buyer applications rose even higher to 57.0% of total applications.

During the same period, Johannesburg recorded the strongest growth in first-time buyer purchase prices nationally, rising by 21.8% year-on-year to an average of R1.38 million from January to April 2026.

However, Golding noted that the robust price increase is partially attributable to unusually low prices paid during the same period in 2025.

Gauteng South and East followed with growth of 7.3%, with average first-time buyer purchase prices reaching R1.03 million.

Lower deposits and rising incomes boost Gauteng property market

“Importantly, conditions for first-time buyers are improving as banks compete aggressively for market share, increasingly offsetting affordability pressures through more competitive mortgage lending,” Golding said.

“In an effort to remove barriers to homeownership, banks are offering incentives such as cost-inclusive home loans, reduced deposit requirements and more favourable lending terms for first-time buyers.”

According to Ooba Home Loans, national deposits as a percentage of purchase price declined again on a six-month moving average basis in April 2026.

The average deposit nationally averaged 12.4% between January and April this year, while the average deposit paid by first-time buyers declined to 8.3%, down from 9.9% during the same period in 2025.

Apart from improved first-time buyer access to finance, other trends are converging to support Gauteng’s residential property market recovery.

These include relatively stable interest rates, new residential developments entering the market, and growing demand for convenient lifestyle hubs where residents can live close to work, retail and entertainment amenities.

“This trend may accelerate further should fuel prices and transport costs continue rising amid ongoing global oil market instability,” Golding said.

Importantly, he explained that Gauteng’s employment market continues to underpin this demand. Over the past five years, Gauteng has generated more employment opportunities than the Western Cape.

However, these jobs were spread across Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni – each with housing markets larger than Cape Town’s.

“This has diluted the visible pressure on Gauteng’s residential property market compared to Cape Town, where a similar volume of employment growth was absorbed within a significantly smaller housing market.”

Golding explained that income levels also continue to reinforce Gauteng’s surging buying power compared to the rest of the country.

According to SARS 2025 statistics published by The Outlier, assessed taxpayers in Johannesburg earned the highest average income among South Africa’s metros in 2024.

At an average of R480,318 per annum, Gauteng taxpayers were earning R109,000 more than Cape Town taxpayers and R68,200 more than Tshwane taxpayers.

“Concurrently, South Africa’s demographics are creating opportunities at the opposite end of the age spectrum,” Golding said.

The country’s population aged 60 and over has increased by approximately 3 million over the past 23 years, creating a rising demand for downsizing, retirement, and age-appropriate housing.

“Supply in this segment continues to lag demand, suggesting strong long-term growth potential for retirement and senior living developments.”

Gauteng’s housing market gathers pace – but global risks loom

According to the Pam Golding Properties Residential Property Index, revised national house price inflation accelerated to 4.1% in April 2026, Golding said.

“However, the ongoing Middle East crisis poses a clear upside risk to South Africa’s inflation outlook, which, if sustained, could place further pressure on household finances and potentially force interest rates higher.”

Among the major regional markets, although losing some momentum, the Western Cape continues to outperform with house price inflation of 8.6% in the year to April 2026.

At the same time, both KwaZulu-Natal (3.1%) and Gauteng (2.6%) continue to show modest acceleration.

At the metro level, Lightstone statistics indicate that house price growth is beginning to slow in Cape Town (8.95% in April), Tshwane (2.8%) and Johannesburg (1.4%), while continuing to accelerate in eThekwini (3.1%).

However, within Gauteng, Ekurhuleni stands out as the clear exception, with house price growth accelerating further to 5.2% in April.

Interestingly, national revised data also shows freehold homes continuing to outperform sectional title properties, with freehold house price inflation rising to 5.7% in April compared with sectional title growth of 3.9%.

Positively, Golding said investor appetite is also showing improvement. National demand for investment properties rose to 11.6% of all ooba Home Loan applications.

Ooba also recorded a renewed appetite in both the Eastern Cape (12.6%) and KwaZulu-Natal (12.1%).

“As South Africa’s youthful population continues to expand and urbanise, Gauteng’s large and diversified metro economies appear increasingly well-positioned to capture the next wave of housing demand.”

This remains the case even as broader economic and geopolitical risks continue to shape the country’s property outlook.