A changing landscape

There have been some marked changes in the first-time buyer landscape over the past few months - from bonded vs cash transactions to suburbs where first-time buyers are purchasing. Let's take a look...

Cash is king

An interesting change over the past few months has been the increase in cash transactions - see image 1
In January 2020, only 25% of first-time buyers were cash buyers, since July this has
increased with 60% of transactions in September being cash purchases. 

Millennials lead the way
 
As illustrated in the below graph, the majority of first-time buyers are below the age of 35 - see image 2

What price range are most popular amoung first-time buyers?
 
In Durban and Johannesburg homes priced between R700 000 to R1m lead the way among first-time buyers.
The same trend is seen in Pretoria however, purchases in the R1m to R1,5m value bands follow very closely.
On the other end of the spectrum, first-time buyers in Cape Town are making purchases in the R1,5m to R3m band - see image 3
Apart from Cape Town, collectively, the majority of first-time buyers are buying in the value bands below R1m. This highlights the trend in increased opportunities for ownership in the
emerging and entry-level markets.

Location, location, location
 
Interesting to note is that suburbs, like Sea Point, Northcliff and Parkhurst that may have previously been out of reach for first-time buyers are now among the top suburbs where first-time buyers are purchasing homes - see image 4.

Article Courtesy Lightstone