Johannesburg property prices rise 4.9% as Cape Town rents nearly double
Official figures show Cape Town residential property prices rose 12% year on year to June 2026, compared with 4.9% in Johannesburg. Crowdsourced estimates also point to substantially higher rents and apartment prices in Cape Town.
In June 2026, Cape Town's property prices saw the highest annual increase among South African metropolitan areas, up by 12%, while Johannesburg's prices rose by 4.9%, according to Statistics South Africa's Residential Property Price Index. Renting a one-bedroom flat in Central Cape Town costs almost twice as much as in Johannesburg, with estimated monthly rents reaching R17 188 in the city centre compared to R8 620 in Johannesburg.
Despite similar estimated average take-home salaries, Cape Town's property prices have climbed 12% per year, outpacing Johannesburg's 4.9% annual rise. This disparity is evident across various property categories, including sectional title, freehold, and resold properties. Cape Town's residential property prices increased by 11.6% provincially compared to Gauteng's 4.9%.
Numbeo's June 2026 estimates show that a one-bedroom city-centre apartment in Cape Town costs R17 188 monthly, nearly double the R8 620 in Johannesburg. Similarly, a three-bedroom city-centre apartment costs R29 010 in Cape Town versus R17 908 in Johannesburg. The cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment in Cape Town's centre is equivalent to 62% of the estimated average monthly net salary, compared to 31% in Johannesburg.
These figures highlight Cape Town's ongoing housing affordability challenges amidst broader South African property market trends.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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