RESIDENTIAL MARKET
Residential Market Bouncing Back after Covid Blues
Overall the trend is still negative , but upper middle to luxury bands more resilient
By Hayley Ivins-Downes
Prior to the pandemic , South Africa ’ s residential market had been on a steady , albeit slow , decline . Then 2020 happened which robbed the market of over 45,000 transactions , while 2021 offered gains of 10,000 units more than 2019 . This data raises the question of whether the the pandemic changed the tide for the residential market , or did it just postpone the inevitable .
According to Lightstone Property ’ s data , South Africa ’ s residential property market bounced back in 2021 from the Covid-induced low in 2020 – but all eyes will be on whether the market continues to improve and grow or reverts to its gentle , downward trajectory of the last five years . Hayley Ivins-Downes , Lightstone ’ s Head of Digital , says that property transfers totalled 318 152 in 2021 as pent-up demand from 2020 – when hard lockdowns severely impacted the market – came through the system . However , the average of 2020 and 2021 would still have represented a decline from 2019 , which itself was significantly down on 2018 ’ s 326 035 .
Tough economic conditions and political and economic policy uncertainty continued to undermine confidence in many spheres of activity , including the residential property market . Although there have been
72 APRIL 2022 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine