New report: Almost 40% of all possible rental tenants are high-risk

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Smuts says the highest percentage of low-risk tenants and the lowest percentage of risky tenants (the ideal combination) can be found in the North West. “In sharp contrast to this, the Northern Cape has the highest percentage of risky tenants and the lowest percentage of minimum-risk tenants – only one in 10 tenants are in this category, while nearly six out of 10 Northern Cape tenants are classified as risky.”

Mpumalanga shows definite upward trend

In Q3, only one province showed an increase in rental growth rate compared to the previous quarter – Mpumalanga, the only province with a definite upward trend over the past year. By comparison, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal both saw good growth rates over the past year, but experienced a decrease in growth from Q2 to Q3. “It’s worth noting that the 5.2% year-on-year growth recorded in the Western Cape in Q3 is the province’s lowest since we started publishing the PayProp Rental Index in 2012,” says Smuts.

“One positive development is that average tenant income grew faster than rent for the first time in a year, at 3.73% over the past 12 months,” adds Smuts. She notes that economists expect inflation to continue to rise for most of 2019 while economic growth is likely to stay slow, meaning consumers won’t get a break for at least the next year.

Smuts offers advice to property owners and agents to best manage the current rental economy: “Risk management should be the number one priority. Don’t compromise on tenant placement, recheck before you renew, and diligently chase arrears.”

Download the full report here.