Commercial Real Estate in South Africa, Q1 2024

Introducing our latest report on the South African commercial real estate market. Through the first quarter of the year the CRE market continued to go up against mediocre economic growth conditions, strained consumer spending, and waning business confidence levels. Local occupiers are tenacious, however, and performance fundamentals across the three core sectors stayed level at worst. Leasing activity picked up within the prime office market, and positive net income growth was reported at institutionally held retail properties. The logistics submarket is still a standout performer in South Africa’s CRE landscape, with an acute supply shortage. Additional positive factors that will continue to drive this momentum in the near term include fewer power cuts and the prospect of interest rates cuts toward the end of the year. At the same time, the potential positive and negative impacts stemming from May’s government elections should be borne in mind. These data-driven trends and more are unpacked in this market overview for Q1 2024.