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Growth in online property listings

Johannesburg - An increasing number of home owners seem to be looking at more cost effective means of buying and selling property.

Recent data reveals that property listings on online classifieds has shown solid growth over recent months, with some platforms showing an increase of over 30% month-on-month.

Gauteng dominates the online classifieds property market. Data from online classifieds OLX reveals that slightly more than half of all property listed on the platform comes from this province. In second place is the Western Cape at 15.2% and KwaZulu-Natal in third place at 11.8%.

In Gauteng, the most popular areas for South Africans looking to rent residential property on OLX are Centurion, Randburg, Bedfordview, Fourways and Midrand, while those in the Western Cape in most demand are Goodwood, Claremont, Strand, Gardens and Gordon’s Bay.

“We have seen extensive growth in our property category over recent years, but particularly in the past few months and believe this is primarily due to more South Africans becoming mobile savvy and browsing for properties on their mobile phones,” said OLX country manager Stephen Ballot.

“Consumers are also looking to save money on agent fees by dealing with buyers and sellers directly. Improvements in online safety and technology have also fuelled this growth.”

Many consumers are looking to rent rather than buy during tough times and OLX’s rental category has shown extensive growth over the past year.

“Rentals are more affordable in desirable areas compared with house purchases, and our poor economy means that people are more willing to shop around to find a deal," said Ballot.

When it comes to commercial property on online classifieds, Pretoria seems to be the city in most demand with Johannesburg in second place. Soweto currently sits in fifth place, according to OLX.

Unique properties also find their way to online classifieds.

“We see all types of properties listed on OLX, but every so often we have game farms, Atlantic Seaboard mansions and even entire retirement villages up for grabs. The most unique property listed on OLX was a 4 000ha game farm near Roedtan, Limpopo, for R115m,” said Ballot.

With the summer holidays approaching, vacation rental property listings and searches are also on the rise. The coastal areas of Umhlanga, Jeffreys Bay, Margate, Camps Bay, Gordon’s Bay, Kleinmond and Umdloti which are most in demand.

Ballot, however, warned that, as with all online purchases, consumers need to be wary of possible fraud. He urged consumers to be aware of suspicious adverts when buying or selling property online.  

“Viewing fees, a lack of internal images and last minute change of meeting locations are all signs of a potential scammer. If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” he said.

Disclaimer: Fin24 cannot be held liable for any investment decisions made based on the advice given by independent financial service providers. Under the ECT Act and to the fullest extent possible under the applicable law, Fin24 disclaims all responsibility or liability for any damages whatsoever resulting from the use of this site in any manner.

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