According to the “Property Prices Index by Country 2022” published on numbeo.com, Ghana is the most expensive place in the world to purchase property with a price to income ratio of 87.65% and a gross rental yield of 12.99% for city centre property.
Second most expensive is Syria followed by Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Iran, Cambodia, Philippines, South Korea and China which make up the top 10 globally.
The bottom ten comprises Saudi Arabia being the cheapest to purchase property in terms of price to income ratio followed by South Africa (price to income ratio of 3.07 and rental yield of 10.86% for city centre property), United States, Puerto Rico, UAE, Oman, Palestine, Iceland and Cyprus in the bottom 10 most affordable in the world.
How affordable is property in Africa?
Numbeo.com shows that Ghana is the most expensive and you would pay out about 87.65% of your earnings on your property. This is followed by Kenya at 24.24%, Algeria, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritius and South Africa at the lowest end of the price scale.
Which African countries offer the lowest cost of living?
According to Numbeo.com, South Africa ranks as the 8th most expensive on the African continent in terms of cost of living.
The 10 most expensive countries to live in include Seychelles, Senegal, Libya, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana and Cameroon.
The 10 cheapest countries to live in Africa include Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Morocco and Kenya.
How do the SADC countries rank in terms of property and living costs?
The numbeo.com study shows that out of the top 100 countries ranked in terms of affordability of property (being cost of property relevant to earnings), Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Mauritius are some of the countries where property prices would take a chunk out of your earnings.
Interestingly, despite being the 3rd strongest economy on the African continent, South African property prices remain some of the lowest. It ranks as one of the most affordable at 111th place in the latest numbeo.com study.
A recent study done by “Compare the Market” also notes that South Africa is still very affordable, ranking it as the fourth most affordable country to buy property in while it ranks Turkey as the cheapest globally.
In addition to a national footprint across South Africa, Seeff also has offices in a number of Southern African countries including Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Eswatini and Mauritius as well as in Malawi and soon to open in Mozambique.
Author: Gina Meintjes, 31 May 2022, International