Even though renting offers clear benefits, most South Africans still believe buying a home is better than renting due to long-term value and ownership benefits.
This was revealed in Absa’s latest Homeowners Sentiment Index for the fourth quarter of 2025, an indicator of consumer confidence in South Africa’s property market.
The index asks six key questions to a representative sample of South African consumers who earn an income and live in metropolitan areas, cities and large towns.
The six key metrics include overall confidence in the property market, buying, selling, investing, renovating, and buying versus renting.
Overall, homeowner sentiment rose by two percentage points to 87% in the fourth quarter of 2025, matching the highest level recorded since the Index began and last reached a year earlier.
Confidence in the property market has remained elevated over the past 18 months, fluctuating between 84% and 87% since the second quarter of 2024.
This reflects a consistent degree of optimism among homeowners, even amid ongoing challenges in the broader economy.
Absa also assessed sentiment toward buying versus renting. It found that buying continues to trump renting, as 77% of potential future buyers who are currently renting favoured homeownership, a 2% increase from the previous quarter.
This is one of the three highest sentiments recorded since the first quarter of 2022, when it hit 79%. It is also notably higher than the 61% sentiment recorded in the first two quarters of 2023.
One of the main drivers behind this positive sentiment was that most renters (54%) believe that it is better to own than rent.
Respondents largely viewed buying as the better financial option, with 37% believing that buying to rent creates income, 45% believing that renting is more expensive, and 40% believing that property will accumulate in value.
Nearly half of respondents (46%) said South Africans should buy property rather than rent if they can afford it.
Renting property in South Africa
Even though many renters saw the benefits of buying a property, some South Africans are choosing to rent instead.
According to Absa, needing personal space, a place to stay while renovating and overall affordability are key reasons for South Africans who have rented in the past year.
Notably, 40% of renters said they cannot afford to buy right now. Many respondents also believe that buying includes maintenance costs or transfer fees, which can be expensive (31%), and consider buying property risky (19%).
Despite these challenges deterring South Africans from buying property, many respondents said they have now saved enough to afford a home deposit, and others expressed a need for a larger living space.
This shift has also been reported by other companies, which have noted a recovery in South Africa’s property market and overall sentiment.
According to data from BetterBond, home loan applications increased 16% year-on-year, and 23.5% from the low point in the third quarter of 2023.
It also reported that average deposits required for first-time buyers are down 20% year on year, which matters because deposits can be the biggest barrier between “ready to buy” and “able to buy”.
The repo rate has also been improving, with the last cut of 25 basis points occurring in November 2025, which brought the rate to its current level of 6.75%.
This has made homeownership more affordable for both prospective buyers and existing property owners. As a result, many property experts have implored South Africans who can and want to enter the property market to do so now.
