Rental Index provincial snapshot: Limpopo leads the way in Q2

The latest PayProp Rental Index again revealed Limpopo to be South Africa’s hottest rental market.

Rents in the province grew by 12.5% year on year in Q2, making it the third straight quarter of double-digit acceleration.

The average rent in Limpopo was R9 145, an increase of more than R1 000 compared to a year earlier.

That increase has moved it from being the sixth most expensive province for tenants a year ago to fifth place in Q2, overtaking Mpumalanga. And the province could climb further up the table later this year. Its average rent is now just R94 behind fourth-placed Gauteng, and R127 behind third-placed KwaZulu-Natal, both of which are growing much more slowly (2.4% and 3.6% year on year respectively in Q2).

What is driving Limpopo's growth?

Limpopo’s property market boom isn’t limited to rentals. According to Seeff Property Group, provinces across the north of the country are experiencing strong sales due to their strong and growing agriculture, mining and tourism sectors.  

That extra demand has pushed sales prices in Limpopo up by 7.5% over the past year. In Polokwane, the capital, the average price has gone from R580 000 a decade ago to around R1.5 million today.

But strong sales markets don’t necessarily always mean strong rental markets. Mpumalanga’s sales market is performing well, according to Seeff Property Group, but rents in the province grew by just 0.1% year on year in Q2. The province has consistently South Africa’s average national rental growth figure since the end of 2023, recording growth below 1% in three of the past four quarters.