Mixed fortunes for Johannesburg’s Residential Property Market: A Six Year Overview

• Lightstone analysed Johannesburg's residential market saw declining sales volumes from 2019-2023, but experienced a modest recovery in 2024 compared to 2023.
• While average property prices remained stable, a slight dip in 2024 reflects market adaptation to shifting economic conditions.
• Properties took longer to sell, with the average time on market increasing from 79 days in 2019 to 97 days in 2024.

Johannesburg's residential property market has experienced mixed fortunes over the past six years. Sales volumes have generally been on a decline since 2019, although there was a noticeable uptick in 2024 compared to 2023.

Despite fluctuations, the overall trend shows an increase in the average sale price over the period, although this saw a slight dip in 2024. Interestingly, the total value of sales has remained relatively consistent throughout these years.

Lightstone analysed residential property transactions in Johannesburg ranging from R30,000 to R50 million between 2019 and 2024. While the market has faced challenges, the data reveals a promising recovery, with a modest rise in sales activity in 2024.

Hayley Ivins-Downes, Managing Executive of Lightstone's Real Estate Cluster, notes, “Although Johannesburg’s residential property market has faced its fair share of difficulties, the increase in sales volumes in 2024, when compared to 2023, suggests a renewed sense of optimism. This uptick, though modest, points to potential recovery and growth in the market moving forward, despite the overall decline in sales since 2019.”

According to Lightstone’s figures, sales volumes dropped from 37,000 in 2019 to just under 35,000 in 2024. However, this marked an increase from the six-year low of approximately 32,000 in 2023, indicating a gradual rebound.

Residential sales Volume in Joburg: 2019 - 2024

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Average price paid in Joburg 2029 - 2024

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The average price of transactions in Johannesburg has remained relatively static over the period, from just under R1.3m in 2019 to just over R1.3m in 2024 but did rise to over R1.4m in 2023.

The total value of sales in Johannesburg has fluctuated over the past six years but has stabilised to around R47 000m in 2023 and 2024.

Total sales value in R millions in Joburg: 2029 - 2024

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‘Although the average property price in Johannesburg has remained relatively consistent over the past six years, we did notice a slight decline in 2024. This fluctuation, combined with stable sales values, highlights the market's ability to adapt to shifting economic conditions,’ says Ivins-Downes. 

Properties have spent more time on market over the period, rising from 79 days in 2019 (see graph below) to 97 in 2024.

Average time on market in Joburg in days: 2019 - 2024

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Time on the market: Joburg’s biggest sellers & quickest‍

Discovery in Roodepoort is the quickest selling of Johannesburg’s suburbs at 52 days on the market, followed by Amorosa in Roodepoort (54) and Bassonia (57) in Johannesburg’s southern suburbs. ‍

Bryanston in Sandton topped the number of properties sold at 157, which took an average 108 days to sell. Parkhurst was next (84 properties, 70 days on the market) and Douglasdale was third (79 properties sold, 77 days on average on the market).

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Houses in Super Luxury Areas were consistently on the market for the longest time in each of the six years, while Mid Value areas spent the shortest amount of time on the market in 2019 and 2021, Affordable in 2020, 2023 and 2024, and High Value areas in 2022.‍

Time on market for areas of different value

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Properties listed at R5m or more spent more time on the market in each of the six years reviewed, although only marginally so in 2024.

Properties listed at R500k-R1m spent the shortest time on the market in 2019, and the price buckets changed positions each year after that with under R500k in 2020, R1m-R1.5m in 2021, R1m-R1.5m and R1.5m-R2m in 2022, R1m-R1.5m in 2023 and R1.5m-R2m in 2024.‍

Time on market per listing price buckets

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The extended time properties have spent on the market since 2019 is indicative of broader trends in buyer and seller behaviour. In 2024, we saw particularly strong activity in Affordable and Mid-Value areas, underscoring how different price segments are performing in today’s market,” says Ivins-Downes.