[imagesource:flickr]

It seems that more and more Saffas are keen to give up the big city hustle and grind for a slower life in a small town.

Several small towns in South Africa are seeing far higher sales volumes compared to metros, despite high interest rates and a weak economy. Lightstone even reports that smaller towns are benefiting more than pre-2019.

The property group notes via BusinessTech that the Western Cape has grown its share of residential sales since pre-2019, while Gauteng has been the biggest loser.

Overall, sales activity increased mostly in 170 towns across the country, with 77 (45%) in the Western Cape, 22 (13%) in KwaZulu-Natal and 20 (12%) in the Eastern Cape. Gauteng was last in the provincial table, with just 3 (2%) towns showing a relative increase in activity.

Image: Lightstone

The most active municipalities in the Western Cape are Overstrand, Stellenbosch and Hessequa, followed by Knysna, Prince Albert, Saldanha Bay, Kannaland, Swellendam, Bergrivier and Cape Agulhas, with Cape Town seeing its share of activity rise from 15% to 17%. To elaborate:

“The most increased town activity (as opposed to municipality) has been around Stellenbosch, and then along the West Coast (Langebaan, Yzerfontein and St Helena Bay), inland around Darling, Riebeeck Kasteel and Barrydale, in Cape Town (Scarborough, Hout Bay, Noordhoek) and then heading east along the south coast, in towns such as Gansbaai, Stillbaai, Mossel Bay and Knysna,” Lightstone said.,

Activity in the City of Johannesburg dropped from 16% to 15%. Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal’s share fell from 12% to 11%. Their smaller municipalities experienced the most significant falls.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape saw a slight increase, with smaller towns, including Jeffreys Bay, St Francis, Port Alfred, Kenton-on-Sea and Mthatha, showing positive results.

The proof is in the pudding; South Africans want peace and quiet.

[source:businesstech]