Africa-Press – South-Africa. Semigration – where South Africans move between provinces – has overtaken emigration as a key driver for house sales in SA’s largest metros, according to property data compiled by FNB.
The bank’s latest estate agent survey shows that semigration was cited as the reason for selling a house in more than 10% of sales in the second quarter of the year, up from just 5% before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Emigration-triggered property transactions, meanwhile, fell from around 18% of sales in 2019 to an average of 9% this year. Purchases of houses by foreigners have also dipped.
While SA’s weakening rand has made the country an attractive value proposition, sales have fallen to 3% of total volumes, lower than the long-term average of 4.2%.
FNB said the fall in sales from a peak of 6% in 2016 likely points to “unfavourable sentiment towards the country”.
The number of expatriate South Africans buying homes in SA for investment or because they are returning to the country has fallen to 2%, down from around 3% at the end of 2020.
Falling interest in SA’s residential property market by expatriates and foreigners may have tempered house price growth, the bank said.
“The negative net foreign demand explains, in part, the restrained trajectory of house price growth in South Africa,” said FNB. “The other part [is] explained by weak economic and labour-market prospects amid tighter financial conditions.”
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
