Expensive to rent, but cheap to buy a home in the Northern Cape, South Africa

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The average transaction price rose from R676,000 in 2019 to R875,000 currently. This represents total growth of 29.4% over the last five years, averaging at around 5% annually, but is still well below most other provinces.

The sparsely populated province only has about 1.4 million residents with Kimberley as the main city and mostly smaller towns serving mining or farm areas along with some coastal villages, says Badenhorst.

Several landmarks characterise the province, from the mighty Orange River to the Kalahari Desert, Great Karoo, and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (shared with Botswana). It is also home to the MeerKAT radio telescope (80km north of Carnavon), and the Astronomical Observatory, (SAAO) in Sutherland.

Mining (manganese, iron ore, diamonds, and copper set for revival) is a major driver of housing demand. The highest volume of sales is recorded in Kimberley and Upington, as well as in smaller towns such as Kathu, Kuruman, Springbok, and Port Nolloth.

Agriculture comprises mostly livestock such as beef, sheep and goats, and game farming. Only 2% of land is used for crop farming due to the arid nature of the province.

During the 2021/2 boom period, a fair amount of first-time buyers used the low-interest rate to invest in homes, especially in Kimberley, Upington, Kathu and Kuruman.

While the market has slowed, Kimberley offers good value with average house prices around R1.45m and R845,000 for sectional titles. Property owners experienced strong capital growth during the 2021/2 market boom, especially with freehold houses, making them a good investment.

Kuruman in the heart of the Kalahari is surrounded by mines and is thus somewhat of a buyer's hotspot, but offers excellent value in the R1.3m to R1.9m range, says Lochna Swartz, an agent with Seeff.

Danielskuil offers more affordability compared to Kuruman, Postmasburg and Kathu with the average house price of R1.1m to R1.4m, and is popular with younger buyers and retirees from the mines, says Sandy-Ann Alberts, an agent with Seeff. There are also smallholdings in the area.

Bennie Hoffman and Gustav Bronkhorst, agents for Seeff Orania, a town on the Orange River, say it is popular for its good services including solar which is under construction. Buyer enquiries have picked up since the election, and as a growing town, people can invest in vacant plots, along with a choice of houses and smallholdings.

People who come to work in the mine in Aggeneys will often prefer to settle in the Springbok area, says Esther Roscoe, an agent with Seeff who also services a number of smaller towns around, as well as Port Nolloth on the coast. Housing in the small towns starts from R645,000, from R1.5m in Port Nolloth and R19.5m in Springbok. Game farms are also popular in the area.