The Northern Cape - South Africa’s largest and least populated province - has also become a hotspot for property investors.

PayProp Rental Index noted that the rental range in the Northern Cape is from R2,500 to R15,000 per month.

The average rent per month is R9,274, according to the research and this makes the Northern Cape the second most expensive province to rent, after the Western Cape.

What is fascinating about the province’s property sector is that it is still the most affordable province to buy a property, according to Ian Badenhorst, licensee for Seeff Country and Karoo.

Additional data from Lightstone also noted that only 2.5% of all transactions in the province fall above R1.5 million.

The average price for a home in the Northern Cape is around R875,000.

A breakdown of the average price of homes across the country:


Province	% value above R1.5 million	Average price
Northern Cape	2.5	R875,000
Free State	5	R908,000
Limpopo	6	R997,000
Eastern Cape	7	R969,000
Mpumalanga	8.25	R1,000,000
North West	8.5	R912,000
Gauteng	17.5	R1,170,000
Kwa-Zulu Natal	18.5	R1,130,000
Western Cape	25	R1,950,000

Badenhorst said that the average transaction price in the Northern Cape rose from R676,000 in 2019 to R875,000 currently.

He said that this represented a total growth of 29.4% over the last five years, averaging at around 5% annually. This is still well below most other provinces in South Africa.

Mining

The Northern Cape only has around 1.4 million residents and the mining of manganese, iron ore, diamonds, and copper has been a huge driver of demand for housing in the province.

Badenhorst noted that the highest volume of house sales is recorded in Kimberley and Upington, and in smaller towns such as Kathu, Kuruman, Springbok and Port Nolloth.

The boom of 2021 to 2022

Data from Seeff Property noted that during the 2021/2 boom period, a large number of first-time buyers used the low-interest rate to invest in homes in Kimberley, Upington, Kathu and Kuruman.

“While the market has slowed, there is good value to be had in Kimberley, with the average house price at around R1.45 million, and R845,000 for sectional titles,” the property group said.

Lochna Swartz, an agent at Seeff said that Kuruman in particular is surrounded by mines and has become hotspot for property investors.

4,000 news homes

In January, government said that it preparing to build over 4,000 houses in municipalities across the Northern Cape in a programme valued at R1 billion.

The new houses would take about 12 to 18 months to be constructed.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the project will see thousands of families finally having a home to call their own.

“Through this project, thousands of families will now have a home they can call their own, an asset that can be used to improve their lives and access financing for their needs, and a home that can be passed on to future generations,” Ramaphosa added.

Ramaphosa described the project as the biggest in the history of the Northern Cape.

“This project is going to help reduce the housing backlog in the Northern Cape, as more people have access to housing in urban and rural areas,” he explained.

“We will strive to ensure that the elderly, child-headed households, military veterans and persons with disabilities get priority in the allocation of these houses. What is significant about this project is that it will also address the housing needs of the so-called ‘missing middle’, people who have a form of income but do not qualify for either subsidised housing or home loans with commercial banks,” Ramaphosa noted.

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