Pretoria has witnessed a 26.7% increase in bond applications over the past year – almost double the growth recorded in the Western Cape, according to BetterBond.

Although the Western Cape is still considered the country’s semigration capital, Bradd Bendall, BetterBond’s National Head of Sales, says that Pretoria’s strong upward momentum is, in part, due to a boom in new residential developments, especially in student housing.

Pretoria is home to South Africa’s largest residential university with around 56 000 students enrolled and with its expanding student population and ongoing demand for rentals, it is becoming a smart choice for buy-to-let investors.

Brooklyn, for example, is where the main university campus is situated and it has seen massive investment in modern, sectional title accommodation. These options are particularly appealing to students coming into the area from other parts of the country.

With Pretoria having surpassed the Western Cape in terms of bond application volumes, the shift is also being driven by reverse semigration. “Many of the families who relocated to the Western Cape for the coastal lifestyle have decided to return to Pretoria where property is affordable and the cost of living is comparatively lower,” says Bendall. With some suburbs in the Western Cape experiencing increased traffic congestion, high-density developments and disruptive infrastructure upgrades, buyers are considering alternatives.

For frustrated residents in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, where water disruptions and poor road maintenance are becoming increasingly common, Pretoria presents a welcome alternative. “Pretoria’s service delivery is perceived to be better than in many parts of Johannesburg,” he adds. “These buyers tend to buy in luxury estates that offer a family-orientated, secure lifestyle. Lightstone has previously reported that the City of Tshwane is the most popular municipality in Gauteng for relocation, while Pretoria seems to be the most popular town.”

Pretoria offers comparative value for money with separate data from Lightstone showing that most property sales in the metro fall within the R800 000 to R2 million price range. BetterBond’s July 2025 Property Brief notes a national average purchase price of R1.28 million for first-time buyers over the past year.

Buyer activity is fairly evenly distributed among age groups, according to data from Property24, suggesting that Pretoria has a varied offering. Almost 37% of buyers in the past year were aged 36 to 49, followed by the 18 to 35 age cohort who accounted for close to 29% of all sales.