Remax National Housing Report 2025 Q4 released on Monday indicated that South Africa’s housing market closed 2025 with renewed momentum.
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Remax National Housing Report 2025 quarter four (Q4) released on Monday indicated that South Africa’s housing market closed 2025 with renewed momentum.
Remax said that nationally, based on performance within the REMAX SA network, the country’s average house price increased by 4.2% year-on-year in Q4 2025.
Adrian Goslett, CEO and Regional Director of REMAX Southern Africa said that following the five interest rate cuts implemented in 2025, the property market has shown clear signs of renewed momentum as improved affordability and growing buyer confidence have contributed to a noticeable revival across several regions.
“What stands out is that this recovery appears to be driven less by semigration (the internal migration of people moving from one part of a country to another to improve their quality of life) trends and more by financially conscious decision-making,” he said.
The report said that while the Western Cape continued to record strong price growth of 15.5% year-on-year, the overall trend suggests that buyer demand is spreading out. “At the same time, Gauteng recorded a 4.4% year-on-year adjustment within the REMAX network, marking a notable turnaround from the price decline recorded in the previous quarter. This shift may reflect a combination of available stock, pricing realignment, and changing buyer priorities.”
The report added that Lightstone data supports the view that semigration is no longer the dominant structural driver of housing activity. Excluding first-time buyers, 83% of homeowners who sold and purchased property again remained in the same province, of which, 63% remained within the same municipality.
The report said that while the Western Cape remains the only province to have recorded a net gain in migration above the R500 000 price band over the past five years, recent trends suggest that inflows into the province have moderated compared to prior year.
Goslett said that shifting workplace dynamics and changing affordability trends are increasingly influencing where buyers choose to purchase.
“As property prices in the Western Cape continue to rise and many companies are encouraging return-to-office mandates, the wave of semigration evident in recent years appears to be moderating,” he said.
Remax said that within its network, property market activity followed its typical seasonal rhythm, with Q4 2025 emerging as a period of heightened urgency among buyers and sellers. REMAX listings that were published and sold within the fourth quarter of 2025 achieved an average turnaround time of just 14 days, as purchasers accelerated their decision-making to secure a home before the holiday period, while sellers listing late in the year were generally motivated to conclude transactions ahead of the new year.
Remax added that the strong representation of Gauteng suburbs alongside Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal locations indicates that demand remains widely distributed rather than driven by a single semigration destination.
Goslett concluded that as we move into 2026, buyers appear to be making strategic decisions based on affordability, value and long-term sustainability.
“While semigration remains part of the landscape, it is no longer the primary force behind market momentum. The next phase of growth will favour realistic pricing, regional value opportunities and professional guidance,” he said.
Lightstone property data released in February indicated that South Africa's residential property market was busiest in the mid to premium segments in 2025, which differed from the usual trends observed in a robust market. Lightstone reviewed about 200 000 transactions last year in a market of roughly four million homes valued at over R500 000. Sales below R500 000 were excluded due to the high prevalence of subsidised transfers and transactions in that segment that do not reflect open-market value.
Lightstone added that they found more property churn in South Africa's higher value residential areas than lower value areas in 2025, a significant majority of seller-buyers remained in the same province and, to a lesser extent, the same municipality. “This suggested that while semigration was a significant trend in the market, it was not the dominant one.”
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