---
title: "Rent & Housing Costs in South Africa — Geo-Parity"
description: "Rent in South Africa: about $511/month for a 70m² flat, 140.4% of the local median wage. Measured against local wages and your own income."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/housing/south-africa/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/housing.json?country=ZA"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
[Expenses](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=housing) · South Africa

# Rent and housing costs in South Africa

About **$511** a month for a 70m² flat — **140.4%** of what a median local earner takes home. Estimated; see the caveat below.

## The figures

- **Rent, 70m² flat**: $511/mo
- modelled from the price basket
- **Share of local median wage**: 140.4%
- local median ≈ $364/mo
- **Price-to-income**: 94%
- of this country's own long-run average
- **Price-to-rent**: —
- above 100 favours renting
- **Mortgage rate**: —
- not published free outside the euro area
- **Housing price level**: —
- EU27 = 100 (Eurostat)

Updated 2026-09-01. Price-to-income and price-to-rent compare South Africa with its own long-run average, not with other countries. National averages — not financial advice.

## Countries with similar rent

- [Colombia](https://geo-parity.com/housing/colombia/) — $448/mo , 125.4% of local wage
- [Türkiye](https://geo-parity.com/housing/turkiye/) — $453/mo , 42.1% of local wage
- [Spain](https://geo-parity.com/housing/spain/) — $542/mo , 19.8% of local wage
- [Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/housing/portugal/) — $619/mo , 29.8% of local wage
- [Poland](https://geo-parity.com/housing/poland/) — $682/mo , 37.7% of local wage

See also: [all countries ranked](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=housing) · [what people earn in South Africa](https://geo-parity.com/wage-bands/south-africa/) · [healthcare costs](https://geo-parity.com/healthcare/south-africa/)

## Frequently asked questions

How much is rent in South Africa?

About $511 a month for a 70m² flat — modelled from this site's price basket, which understates housing where it has decoupled from the general cost of living. That is 140.4% of the local median wage of roughly $364 a month. A national average, not a quote: what you pay depends on the city, the neighbourhood and when you look.

Can I afford to live in South Africa on a remote salary?

That depends on the salary, which is the point. Rent of $511 is 140.4% of a local median wage; on a $6,000/month remote income it would be about 9%. The gap between those two figures is the arbitrage, and the housing tool computes it for any income you enter.

Is buying in South Africa good value right now?

Price-to-income currently sits at 94% of South Africa's own long-run average, so housing is 6% more affordable than its historical norm. These compare South Africa with its own past, not with other countries.

Where does this data come from?

OECD (price-to-income and price-to-rent), the ECB (mortgage rates, euro area only) and Eurostat (measured city rents and housing price levels), refreshed at build time — last updated 2026-09-01. OECD — DSD_AN_HOUSE_PRICES, HPI_YDH_AVG (% of long-term average); OECD — DSD_AN_HOUSE_PRICES, HPI_RPI_AVG (% of long-term average); ECB Data Portal — MIR, new housing loans to households (euro area); Eurostat — prc_ppp_ind, ppp_cat A0104 (EU27=100); Eurostat Urban Audit — SA1049V, average annual rent per m² (EUR); Eurostat Urban Audit — SA1053V, apartment price per m² (EUR); Eurostat Urban Audit — SA1051V, average apartment price (EUR); HUD USER — Fair Market Rents FY2026, One-Bedroom (40th-percentile GROSS rent, incl. tenant-paid utilities, USD/month).

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Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/housing/south-africa/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/housing.json?country=ZA