THE RENTAL MARKET IN SANDTON - Hyde Park and surrounds
by Rochelle Holland
Hyde Park is one of Johannesburg's wealthiest suburbs and is home to many top businessmen and businesswomen of South Africa. Hyde Park has luxurious, historic homes on large acres of land and modern dwellings in secure compounds (clusters or security estate homes). Large houses and clusters are available as rental homes, as are various sectional title apartments suitable for mid to high-income households.
Hyde Park is centrally located in the Sandton CBD and is near Rosebank and Johannesburg CBD, so it remains a popular suburb for Tenants.
Seeff Sandton's top-performing rental agent, Adrian Alport, is the rental specialist for Hyde Park and the surrounding suburbs of Sandhurst, Rosebank, Melrose Arch, and Illovo.
Adrian's experience and knowledge of the Real Estate industry have come from facing varied rental markets since his Real Estate career in 1993.
One of the most challenging rental markets in South African history was when South Africa was put into hard lockdown in March of 2020 (due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic). This had adverse effects on the rental industry, as no tenants could move in or out of properties during this time. Tenants were forced to stay where they were. Vacant properties were not being re-occupied, and the Landlord was at a complete loss of rental income in this instance. TPN (Tenant Profile Network) reported that 20.65% of properties priced at R25 000+ per month were vacant, with Gauteng reporting the highest estimated average vacancy rate in this price range.
Landlords were forced to review rental pricing and make a tough call on whether to sell or hold onto their investment properties. At Seeff, we saw much-needed rental price relief, which came as a direct result of Tenant affordability and the scarcity of Tenants due to the aftereffects of Lockdown towards the end of 2020. Sandton properties experienced price reductions of 20 to 25% in certain suburbs. Properties previously rented out at R50 000 per month were now getting rental prices below R40 000 per month.
Landlords have come to terms with the reality of reduced rental pricing. As a result, we have noted a slight improvement in the rental housing market - with stabilized vacancy rates and more high-end Tenants moving around.
This was evident in Adrian Alport's various high-end leases. He concluded luxury property rentals in Hurlingham at R52 000 per month, Parkview at R30 000 per month and Hyde Park at R40 000 as well as R35 000 per month - proving increased rental appetite in the property market in late 2021.
Top rental prices achieved in the first quarter of 2022 include properties in Hyde Park at R44 000 per month, concluded in January, and Hurlingham at R50 000 per month in February.
We have seen many corporate and ex-pat Tenants returning to Sandton suburbs, and they are actively viewing properties in price ranges exceeding R60 000 per month.
With this improved Tenant activity, Seeff is listing more and more luxury homes in Hyde Park specifically, being marketed for as much as R90 000 per month. Sandhurst shows a similar trend, as rental properties are regularly being marketed in the R40 000 to R50 000 per month.
We welcome you to contact Seeff Sandton on 011 784 1222 to discuss rentals with Adrian or for general advice or assistance with your luxury rental in and around Hyde Park.