Eish, Bloemfontein! Is Property Still Worth It in SA?
TL;DR: Property is not automatically a good investment in South Africa. Buy badly in the wrong area and it can cost you money for twenty years. Buy well, run it well and hold it in the right structure, and it's still one of the few assets where the bank lends you most of the price and a tenant pays it back.
Okay, so is property still worth it in South Africa?
You've heard it at the braai. Interest rates. Rates and taxes. Eskom, water outages, municipal kak. Areas that have gone nowhere in ten years. Tenants who stop paying in month three.
A lot of that is true. And everything costs more than it used to. TimesLive worked out in April that electricity has gone up about 85% since 2020 and water about 68%. So I'm not going to tell you property is a sure thing. Here's the honest answer instead.
Ja, but does it still make sense to invest in property in South Africa?
It depends on the property, the price and how you hold it. That sounds like a dodge. It isn't. It's the whole answer.
Property isn't one investment. A flat bought at a launch price with a high levy and a rent that doesn't cover the bond is a completely different animal from a small block bought below value with every unit let. Same country. Same year. Opposite results.
So "is property good?" has no answer. "Is this property, at this price, held this way, good?" does.
What are the real arguments against property?
I'm not going to pretend they don't exist.
Costs you don't control. Rates, levies, insurance and utilities go up whether your rent does or not.
Interest rates move. A deal that works at one rate can stop working at a higher one.
Growth isn't promised. Some areas have gone sideways for years.
Property is slow. Selling takes months and costs money. You can't sell half a flat.
Tenants are people. Some pay late. Some don't pay. Evictions go through the courts.
It takes time. Even with a good agent, a rental needs decisions.
Anyone who tells you property only goes up has never owned one through a bad patch. I have. My first one, on the outskirts of Amsterdam in 2003, was a 100% mortgage at the wrong point in the cycle. I sanded the floors myself in a heatwave and still lost over €14,000 on it. Property doesn't care how hard you work.
Step one is the company. The Directors Fortress gives you the blueprint and the investor-friendly offer to purchase. R99 once off. Start here
Okay, so what makes property work when it does work?
One thing no other everyday asset gives you: the bank lends you most of the money, and somebody else pays it back.
Try walking into Absa and asking to borrow most of the price of a share portfolio. Eish, good luck. With a property, they will. Then a tenant's rent services the loan. Over time the loan shrinks and you own more of the asset.
That leverage is the advantage. It's also the danger. It multiplies a good decision and a bad one equally. Amsterdam taught me the second half of that sentence.
What separates investors who do well from those who don't?
Three things, and none of them is luck.
They buy well. You make your money when you buy. A property bought at the right price forgives a lot. A property bought at the wrong price forgives nothing.
They run it well. They know the net number, not the advertised one. They keep a buffer. They vet tenants. They treat maintenance as a cost, not a surprise.
They hold it well. This is the one nobody talks about at the braai. Whose name the property is in decides how far a claim can reach and whether the bank will fund the next one.
I learnt that one the slow way. Around 2015, 2016, I went back to the bank for another bond in my own name and got the soft no. My salary had hit its ceiling, so I could only do one deal at a time: buy, fix, sell, free up affordability, go again. Sequential instead of parallel.
Two investors can buy the same building at the same price. One hits a ceiling at property two. The other keeps going. The difference is the container.
The three positions: which one are you in?
The Spectator debates whether property is worth it. Year after year. Usually at the braai.
The Landlord owns it in their own name and carries all of it on one payslip.
The Director owns a company. The company owns the property. The risk sits behind a wall, and the bank looks at the asset, not only the salary.
Twenty years from now, whether property was "worth it" for you will depend far more on which of those three you were than on what the market did.
The catches
I can't tell you what the market will do. Nobody can. Anyone who claims to is guessing.
Leverage cuts both ways. A bond is a commitment in the good months and the bad ones.
A company doesn't make a bad deal good. It changes how the risk is held, not whether the property was worth buying.
You'll still sign surety on a company bond. The bank debt can still reach you.
It isn't right for everyone. Some people are better off with simpler investments. That's a legitimate answer, and I'd rather you hear it from me.
Where the company fits
If you decide property is for you, decide how you'll hold it before you decide what you'll buy.
That one decision sets your ceiling and your exposure for every property after it. The Directors Fortress shows you how to set the company up before the first offer. Where the wider economics go deeper, the property economics module in The Vault covers it. Container first.
FAQ
Is buying property a good investment in South Africa right now?
It can be, for a well-bought property with realistic numbers. It isn't automatically good. Judge the specific deal, not the asset class.
Is it better to invest in property or keep money in the bank?
They do different jobs. Cash is safe and available. Property uses borrowed money and carries more risk and more potential. Most investors need a cash buffer first.
What is the biggest risk of property investment?
Buying at the wrong price with no buffer. Vacancies, repairs and rate increases then land on your salary.
How much money do you need to invest in property in South Africa?
It depends on the deal and the bank. Beyond the price, budget for transfer and bond costs and a buffer for empty months.
Should I buy investment property in my own name or a company?
If you plan to own more than one or two, a company is worth serious consideration. See company or own name: the honest answer.
Related reading
Build the wall first
The Directors Fortress gives you the investor-friendly offer to purchase, the blueprint for registering the entity, and a walkthrough of the structure I use. R99 once off, yours to keep.
Education only. This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Speak to a registered tax practitioner, attorney or financial adviser about your own situation.
Sources
South African Reserve Bank: resbank.co.za
Companies Act 71 of 2008: gov.za
TimesLive, cost of living since 2020 (20 April 2026)
About the author
Michael Bowen co-founded ZAHomes. He bought his first property in 2003 on the outskirts of Amsterdam, with a 100% mortgage, at the wrong point in the cycle, and lost over €14,000 on it while sanding the floors himself in a heatwave. Twenty-odd years, 40-odd countries and a lot of property school fees later, he lives in Cape Town and teaches South Africans to buy and hold property inside a company. His view hasn't changed: an investor's greatest assets are the lessons from their failed deals.
