The face of the South African homebuyer is changing. First-time buyers are back in force in 2026, and a growing number of them are stepping onto the property ladder entirely on their own, no partner and no co-signer.
Buying young, buying alone
The clearest signal comes from ooba Home Loans. Its chief executive, Gavin Lomberg, says young South Africans are increasingly buying property solo. In 2026, 76.9% of home loan applications from buyers aged 18 to 24 were submitted by a single applicant, up from 68.4% a decade ago. Most of these young buyers are also childfree: 92.5% of applicants in that age group have no dependants. For a generation once expected to buy a first home only after settling down, property is becoming an early, independent milestone rather than a later reward.
A market tilting toward affordability
That shift sits inside a broader recovery. Estate agency Remax's National Housing Report for the first quarter of 2026 shows both first-time and repeat buyers growing despite a jittery economy, with average prices hitting new highs. First-time buyers now make up around 38% of home loan applications, according to origination data from BetterBond, up from 35.4% in 2023.
Where people buy is shifting too. With the Western Cape's average price of about R3.36 million sitting roughly 72% above the rest of the country, many buyers are looking to more affordable provinces for value. Gauteng has become the busiest market by far, accounting for 50.8% of all property transfers in the quarter and helping drive a 7.47% national rise in the number of homes sold.
There is a catch, though. Interest rate cuts stalled in January as a higher oil price and a weaker rand revived inflation worries, and prices keep climbing. For now, a new generation is choosing to own early and independently anyway. The open question is whether that confidence survives the moment borrowing gets more expensive again.
