Limpopo’s residential rental market booms with 12.5% y/y average rental growth
Residential rental growth slowed to 5% year-on-year in Q2 2025 after a strong start according to the latest PayProp Rental Index while average rent increased to R9 218 during the quarter, up R433 on Q2 2024.
Crucially, rental growth remained above inflation, keeping landlords in positive territory in real terms with the share of tenants in arrears falling to 16.9% nationally – the lowest level ever recorded in the index.
The question now is where rental growth will go in Q3 2025. Average year-on-year rental growth slowed from 5.2% in April 2025 to 4.5% in June 2025 – the lowest monthly figure recorded since May 2025.
The dip in national rental growth in Q2 2025 was largely driven by a slower performance in SA’s three largest rental markets. Gauteng recorded sluggish year-on-year growth of just 2.4% while KwaZulu-Natal grew at 3.6%. Growth in the Western Cape was still well above average at 7.3% but even so, this was down from 9.6% in Q1 2025. Together, these provinces’ slowing growth weighed down the national average despite continued strength elsewhere.
By contrast, smaller markets continued to post growth. Limpopo led SA for the third consecutive quarter with a 12.5% year-on-year increase, pushing average rents in the province to R9 145, just R127 behind KwaZulu-Natal. PayProp says that if current trends continue, Limpopo could soon overtake KwaZulu-Natal and even Gauteng to rank among the three most expensive provinces for tenants.
Average rents in the Northern Cape also surged past the R10 000 mark for the first time, as the province posted strong 7.3% growth and cemented its place as the second most expensive province after the Western Cape.
Elsewhere, the Eastern Cape extended its recovery with 5.7% growth, while the Free State delivered 7.7% despite a small quarter-on-quarter dip in rand terms. Mpumalanga remained the weakest market, with growth almost flat at 0.1% year-on-year. The province has now experienced rental growth below 1% in three of the past four quarters, underscoring ongoing pressure on the local market.
