Buyers choose units over houses in regional South African cities – realestate.com.au

Buyers are turning to properties in two of South Africa’s major regional cities as homes quickly become unaffordable.

Murray Bridge and Mount Gambier each recorded growth of 20 per cent or more in their average unit prices by 2025 due to increased demand, the latest data from PropTrack shows.

Both are regional centers that were known for their cheap housing markets just a few years ago, but prices have soared since the Covid pandemic.

Unit values ​​rising faster than house values ​​is a trend emerging in metropolitan Adelaide, but these are the first signs of that trend spreading to regional areas.

Murray Bridge ranked third on the list of South Africa’s top growth areas last year, with the average unit price rising 23 percent to $455,000.

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Unit prices in Murray Bridge and Mount Gambier each showed growth of more than 20 percent by 2025.

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Sylvia Presepio, director of First National Real Estate Murray Bridge, said more affordable homes, including terraced and community title homes, are attractive to investors and young buyers keen to make the most of rental income.

“They’re going up because it’s affordable to invest in and the rent is there,” she said.

“Rent prices are also slowly rising.”

Ms Presepio said prices were rising across the board in the city – a trend that didn’t look like it would stop anytime soon.

“Anything over $650,000 is going pretty steady,” she said.

“Honestly, we don’t know how it will stop.”

The next interest rate decision in February could have an impact on the market, Presepio said, depending on the outcome.

Further south, Mount Gambier’s average unit price rose 20 percent to $406,000 in 2025.

Ray White Mount Gambier director Tahlia Gabrielli said people were forced to make sacrifices as prices continued to rise, and size was usually the most willing to give up.

MORE: SA’s key growth areas: how much your house is worth now

The Murray Bridge unit for 2/4 Alice Tce sold for an undisclosed price in November.

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The Mount Gambier unit at 3/42 Ferrers St is for sale with a price guide of $499,000 to $549,000.

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“It comes down to affordability and ease of maintenance and the reality of what we are seeing is that there is a lot more demand for units because they are cheaper than houses,” she said.

“But it depends on the type of unit.”

As people became increasingly poor, Ms Gabrielli said many were willing to give up large yards and gardens for more low-maintenance options.

The desire to travel more also made people think about where they could save some money to finance travel, she said.

“People are assessing all these components now,” Ms. Gabrielli said.

Home prices rose across the market, she said, but they rose faster for properties under $650,000.