A report on Fin24 today headlined ‘Cheaper to rent in Cape Town’. Latest figures show that it is much cheaper to rent property in Cape Town than in Johannesburg. I had been thinking this all this time but reading the article today just confirmed my thoughts and I was not wrong. Having spent a few years living in Johannesburg, I always had the perception that living in Cape Town would be expensive. But I decided to move to Cape Town one year ago and have realised that rentals in Cape Town are lower than Johannesburg.

It is reported that on average, a one bedroomed upmarket apartment in Johannesburg costs R3 533 per month whereas in Cape Town it would cost R2 695 per month which is a difference of almost R1000. If one was to pay R3 533 a month for a one bedroomed apartment in Cape Town, it would a really fancy place as with R2 500 a month in Cape Town one can find a really decent place. One just has to browse through the classifieds in the newspaper to see some of the prices of apartments in the two cities and a distinct difference can be seen.

One has to wonder why there has been a shift over the past few years in the sense that why have rentals in Johannesburg overtaken those in Cape Town? Could it be because there is now an ever rising demand for apartments in Johannesburg as most people are now moving to Johannesburg to seek better paying jobs? It is no secret that most jobs pay better in Johannesburg than Cape Town so I guess that is why most people move to Johannesburg.

But across the board, rentals have been steadily rising over the past few years and now with the introduction of the NCA (National Credit Act) it has become harder to purchase houses so most people are forced to rent instead of buy, which has pushed the demand for rental accommodation up. This is good news for property owners as they will be getting a higher return in terms of the rentals their tenants will be paying. But for those out there who are renting, it means they have to start paying much more on a monthly basis for their rent bill.

For R1 000 less every month, I also get to see the ocean and Table Mountain every morning I drive to work as opposed to the ocean of cars ones sees every morning driving to work in Johannesburg. I would much rather stay in Cape Town if that is the case.