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You’re well aware of the impact of COVID-19 on all sectors of the economy right now, including real estate and rentals.

I won’t rehash it again, because there are only so many times that you can process that information before you have to go and lie in a dark room with a damp cloth over your eyes, wishing it all away.

At the same time, for renters, knowledge is power, and as we edge towards the end of the year, and the inevitable budget that you’re going to draw up for 2021, you should keep tabs on how things are progressing out there.

We’ve looked at the average rental versus the average salary in major cities in South Africa.

If you don’t live in, or are considering moving to, a major city, this probably wasn’t very helpful. Let’s take it a step further and look at things on a national and provincial level, using PayProp’s rental index for the second quarter, 2020.

Before you see the figure below, obviously these aren’t reflective of rentals across the board, but rather properties listed on various sites, with data accessible to PayProp.

The average national rent came in at R7 746 per month, which doesn’t seem that bad, until you start breaking it down by province.

Once again, those of us living in the Western Cape have to remind ourselves that it’s worth a few extra bucks to stay here.

The average rent in each province looks like this:

• The Western Cape: R9 022
• Gauteng: R8 344
• Northern Cape: R8 081
• KwaZulu-Natal: R8 037
• Mpumalanga: R7 463
• Limpopo: R6 962
• Free State: R6 455
• Eastern Cape: R6 052
• North West: R5 235

The Western Cape is the most expensive province to live in, with an average rent of R9 022. This is the only province with an average rent of more than R9 000 per month. If you want to score a spot in Cape Town, you’re looking at an average rent of R10 000.

Gauteng has now claimed second place, with the average rent in Johannesburg sitting at R8 000 per month.

Kwa-Zulu Natal was the second most expensive province to live in last year, but has moved down to fourth position after a negative growth of 1,6% year on year.

The Northern Cape takes third place, despite its main city, Kimberley, boasting one of the lowest average rents at R4 500 per month.

It looks like the North West is the place to be if you want to save on living costs.

I’ll be sticking it out in the Western Cape.

We have the mountain and a host of other reasons to feel smug.

Come at me, Joburg.

[source:payprop]