Lifestyle changes are prompting 22% of South African homeowners to downscale their properties, according to Lightstone Property.
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The primary reason for sellers wanting to downscale their properties is lifestyle changes, with 22% citing this motivation, according to Lightstone Property.
Other reasons for selling include downscaling due to financial difficulties, as well as relocating to another province (16%) or city/town (11%). Additionally, the percentage of sellers emigrating has decreased from 16% to 9%.
Data from Lightstone indicates that lifestyle and amenities, along with security, were the top priorities for home buyers. However, these categories have swapped positions, with 33% (up from 25% in 2023) now considering lifestyle and amenities as the most important, while security ranks second at 19% (down from 33% in 2023).
Buying to accommodate working from home remained constant at 19% while buy-to-rent has nearly doubled from 6% to 11%.
Just a third of estate agents in the country reached their sales targets in terms of volume and value in 2024, which is slightly lower than numbers recorded in 2023.
However, expectations are high for 2025, with 86% of estate agents expecting they will reach volume targets while 85% say they will reach value targets.
According to Lightstone, estate agents say younger buyers will play an increasingly vital role in SA's residential property market this year, along with unemployment and political certainty.
Lightstone conducted an annual sentiment survey among estate agents and found that while economic uncertainty remained a top issue, it was viewed as marginally less important than the previous twelve months.
This could be a sign of increased confidence in the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) stewardship of the economy.
Estate agents also have placed greater emphasis on the role of foreign investors while the tourism industry remains a key factor in residential property sales.
The past twelve months have been challenging for most estate agents, with 61% saying they did not meet their sales targets in terms of volume in 2024, a significant increase from the 45% in 2023.
The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) cut interest rates twice in 2024, and is expected to make further cuts in 2025, which should help boost the property market, according to Lightstone.
The continued success of the GNU could also provide stability and confidence.
IOL Property
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