Residential rental market recovery in Q1 2026 was uneven across SA, according to the latest PayProp Rental Index.
Annual rental inflation increased to 4.7% during the quarter, up from 4.5% the previous quarter – and ending a run of three quarters of slowing growth. The average national rent reached R9 582, an increase of R450 over the same period in 2025, with the turnaround driven by a particularly strong performance in the Northern Cape and Western Cape, while selected provinces including Mpumalanga and the Free State, lost momentum.
January posted the strongest monthly rental growth when the average national rent increased 5% year-on-year, followed by 4.3% in February and 4.9% in March. While rental growth remained comfortably ahead of consumer inflation throughout Q1 2026, PayProp cautions that the stronger performance may be difficult to sustain with inflation rising again and higher interest rates to increase both tenants’ debt burden and the cost of investment.
The Northern Cape emerged as SA’s hottest-running rental market with annual rental growth surging to 12.9% – the fastest growth spurt recorded by any province since Q1 2025. The average rent in the province climbed to R10 821, extending its lead over third-placed Gauteng and firmly in second place nationally behind the Western Cape.
The Western Cape returned rental growth of 7.4%, its strongest performance in a year – and the first in SA to record an average monthly rent above R12 000, reaching R12 125 during the quarter.
Limpopo staged a partial recovery after the previous quarter’s dip, with annual rental growth of 6.6% while North West posted 6.5% – down from 11.2% in the previous quarter – and having consistently hit double digits throughout 2025.
Mpumalanga’s recovery lost momentum with rental growth slowing sharpy to 0.4% – the weakest performance in SA. Rental growth in the Free State fell just as hard to 0.6%, continuing the slowdown first seen at the end of 2025. The Eastern Cape also slipped below the national average for the first time in a year, with annual rental growth easing to 3.5%.
by PropertyWheel_Gby PropertyWheel_G
propertywheel.co.za
