Coastal towns in the Western Cape, along with smaller towns along the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal coastline, have bucked the national sales volumes and price trend, according to Lightstone, a provider of data, analytics and systems on property, automotive and business assets.
Hayley Ivins-Downes, Managing Executive Real Estate, Lightstone said that on a national level sales volumes declined by 5% in 2023 compared to 2019, while homeowners paid on average 25% more for their properties in 2023.
2019 v 2023
In the Western Cape, sales volumes increased by 6% from 2019 to 2023, while the average price difference for transactions was 39% more for the same period.
However, if Cape Town was excluded then the volume increased by 10% while the average price of transactions was 43% more than in 2019.
According to Ivins-Downes, with or without Cape Town, the Western Cape outperformed the national averages.
Ivins-Downes said that Plettenberg Bay was the standout in terms of sales in the Garden Route, where regional sales volumes actually lowered by 4% from 2019 to 2023, however, average sales prices increased in most of the coastal towns analysed.
“Sales volumes in the Whale Coast were up 7% (Hermanus, Franskraalstrand and Gansbaai recording strong sales), Milnerton and Hout Bay drove the sales increase of 7% in Cape Town and surrounds, while Langebaan, St Helena Bay and Laaiplek recorded the most transactions in the West Coast, where sales were up 11% for the region," Ivins-Downes said.
Average sales prices along the Western Cape coast
Noordhoek and Scarborough just north of the Cape Point peninsula that recorded the highest average sales prices in the Western Cape. In Herolds Bay, outside George in the Garden Route average sales prices from just under R2m in 2019 to well over R4m in 2023.
Ivins-Downes said that the average sales prices on the West Coast were highest in Grotto Bay, a private property that is in the West Coast District Municipality.
In the Eastern Cape, sales volumes increased by 25% between 2019 and 2023 while the average price difference by 17% excluding Port Elizabeth and East London.
However, the numbers tell a different story if the metros are included: sales volumes dropped by 3% but the average price difference actually grew to 21% which is just 4% shy of the national average.
Average sales prices along the Eastern Cape coast
According to Ivins-Downes, popular surfing destinations Gonubie and Jeffreys Bay recorded the biggest increases in sales volumes for the province while St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis which is west of Jeffreys Bay, led the way in terms of average price trends in the province.
From Gqeberha to Oyster Bay, the recorded average sales prices were higher than the towns on the East London coastline, from Port Elizabeth to the KwaZulu-Natal boundary.
Average sales prices along the KwaZulu-Natal coast
In KwaZulu-Natal, performance was flat outside of Margate, Salt Rock and Umhlanga.
Ivins-Downes said: "Volumes were down 12% overall, with the value up 19%, and if Durban was excluded, the volume fell by just 4% (1% off the national average) and the average price difference was 14%, suggesting that the transaction values were higher in the smaller coastal towns."
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