JOAN MULLER: How Covid is breathing life into SA’s housing market
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If you’re looking to generate some cash from your primary home without giving the front door keys away permanently, now could be a good time to rent it out. There certainly appears to be plenty of demand from tenants.
I opted for this route and found takers within less than a day: a family that has sold their house and need a temporary place to hang their hats while they decide if and when to emigrate.
Of course, you have to run the numbers to see if the financial return of renting out your abode is worth the schlepp. And you have to be in a position to downscale.
I was: our kids have just returned to varsity. With the one being in Italy and probably not heading home for at least the next 12 months, it made sense to exchange a four bedroom, standalone property with a sizeable garden and pool for a small (but comfortable) two bedroom apartment.
The rental for the house is nearly two and half times more than that of the apartment. And the saving on utility costs — typically for a tenant’s account — will be substantial.
Many others are contemplating a change in their living arrangements on the back of Covid-induced lifestyle, mobility and financial shifts.
Andrew Golding, who heads the Pam Golding Property Group, says there’s no doubt that South Africans are reassessing their property needs after months of lockdown. Even perceptions of what “home” means are changing.
In this thought-provoking blog (, Golding considers the extent that Covid-19 has potentially triggered a fundamental shift in SA’s housing market.
He highlights a few interesting trends that has emerged post-lockdown — key among them a renewed trek to the platteland and coastal towns, which he believes has been driven by the rapid work-from-home shift and many people not needing to return to the office anytime soon.
Unsurprisingly, downsizing due to financial pressures is also a rising trend. But so too is upsizing — again supported by the work-from-home phenomena, which has seen rising demand for larger and better equipped homes.
Golding says buyers and tenants are also requiring more outdoor space and leisure amenities in their own backyards — no doubt to maximise downtime when retreating from the home office.
Some families are also choosing to live together to save costs, which is giving rise to a new wave of “multi-generational living”, while ...
I opted for this route and found takers within less than a day: a family that has sold their house and need a temporary place to hang their hats while they decide if and when to emigrate.
Of course, you have to run the numbers to see if the financial return of renting out your abode is worth the schlepp. And you have to be in a position to downscale.
I was: our kids have just returned to varsity. With the one being in Italy and probably not heading home for at least the next 12 months, it made sense to exchange a four bedroom, standalone property with a sizeable garden and pool for a small (but comfortable) two bedroom apartment.
The rental for the house is nearly two and half times more than that of the apartment. And the saving on utility costs — typically for a tenant’s account — will be substantial.
Many others are contemplating a change in their living arrangements on the back of Covid-induced lifestyle, mobility and financial shifts.
Andrew Golding, who heads the Pam Golding Property Group, says there’s no doubt that South Africans are reassessing their property needs after months of lockdown. Even perceptions of what “home” means are changing.
In this thought-provoking blog (, Golding considers the extent that Covid-19 has potentially triggered a fundamental shift in SA’s housing market.
He highlights a few interesting trends that has emerged post-lockdown — key among them a renewed trek to the platteland and coastal towns, which he believes has been driven by the rapid work-from-home shift and many people not needing to return to the office anytime soon.
Unsurprisingly, downsizing due to financial pressures is also a rising trend. But so too is upsizing — again supported by the work-from-home phenomena, which has seen rising demand for larger and better equipped homes.
Golding says buyers and tenants are also requiring more outdoor space and leisure amenities in their own backyards — no doubt to maximise downtime when retreating from the home office.
Some families are also choosing to live together to save costs, which is giving rise to a new wave of “multi-generational living”, while ...