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SIMON BROWN: I’m chatting with Justin Easthorpe. He is provincial sales manager at ooba. Justin, appreciate the time. I want to look at residential property in 2026, Before we do, last year was a good year for the residential property market. We saw demand up. We saw prices higher, we saw more first-time buyers than we’ve seen before. It hopefully was start of a trend – but certainly a reversal of the tough couple of years beforehand.
JUSTIN EASTHORPE: Absolutely. And we hope to see it project further into 2026. Just covering some of those numbers, we did see our application volumes up 9%. And what was great was the value in those numbers. The rand value surged 17%. So a really positive end to the year.
SIMON BROWN: And that should continue. If I think about it, we’re hoping – and I’m touching lots of wood – more interest-rate cuts from the MPC, the Monetary Policy Committee. We have had massive fuel reductions. That trend certainly looks sustainable from a consumer economic perspective.
JUSTIN EASTHORPE: Absolutely. And if government can adhere to the inflationary targets, we certainly do expect to see, in this interest rate cycle, another 50 to 75 basis-point cut, which will certainly alleviate the financial pressures of the consumer.
SIMON BROWN: Looking ahead to 2026, what are some of the key trends that you’ve got your eyes on, which you’re expecting for this year?
JUSTIN EASTHORPE: What we definitely are seeing is the marginal increase – and we’re hoping to see a much bigger increase – in the first-time home-buyer space. Those first-time home buyers really do drive the property market and we’re seeing some nice, steady numbers from the first-time home buyer space.
What we’re also seeing is a demographic change where a lot more female buyers are coming into the property market. So we’re certainly seeing that. We’re wanting to see, and we will see, a more stable interest-rate environment. What we’re also seeing is the Gen Zs coming into the market and the Gen Zs demanding or calling for more sustainable properties to purchase. We are seeing that filtering down to the developers who are creating stock in the market as well.
SIMON BROWN: The Gen Zs is an interesting one, because of the sustainability. My sense is [it is] kind of bubbling under but really sort of coming to the fore. I know some of the banks give better rates, depending on sustainability. I know Balwin, one of the listed companies, does a lot on it, and it’s more than perhaps just water-harvesting and some solar panels. There’s a lot more to it.
JUSTIN EASTHORPE: Absolutely. And I think what Gen Zs and our nation as a whole are wanting to see is the reduction in consumption of natural gases. And for the likes of air certification, where a developer can come in and promise a 20% reduction in energy makes a big difference.
SIMON BROWN: Yes, absolutely.
Regionally, I imagine the Western Cape Atlantic Seaboard probably remains a prime spot. Are we seeing interest in other areas? I’m thinking maybe KZN, which really suffered from the first floods and then the riots. Are we seeing some interest there?
JUSTIN EASTHORPE: We definitely are. We are seeing it in both KZN and Gauteng, but KZN in particular. The data shows that we are seeing a high demand in coastal development. And what we’re also seeing in the KZN area is the attraction of both local and international investors, which is promising for that market.
SIMON BROWN: Ah, okay, international as well. And nodes in Johannesburg. In a recent note you mentioned Rosebank, and that stands out because I live in Rosebank. A lot of new stock came into the market. But you say that’s sort of getting out and reaching some equilibrium in Rosebank and a couple of other Johannesburg nodes?
JUSTIN EASTHORPE: Absolutely. So we’re seeing it in Sandton and Waterfall as well, and we’re also seeing some people moving into more of the affluent markets, your Bryanston area as well, where we’ve started to see a lot more development activity in those particular nodes in Johannesburg in particular.
SIMON BROWN: Return to office. I think all of my friends have now been called back to the office. First it was like one day, two days. Now it’s just five days. That must have some sort of impact as well.
JUSTIN EASTHORPE: Absolutely. And what we’re starting to see as well is the potential home buyer, the consumer, wanting to find properties that are closer to the urban nodes, closer to transport connectivity and also wanting more things like fibre connections and multi-purpose environments for them to work in. But we are also see people moving back to where they are closer to the office, given that companies are starting to insist that people start working back in the offices.
SIMON BROWN: Is secure estate still a high-demand area for buyers?
JUSTIN EASTHORPE: Absolutely. And we do see in particular your first-time home buyers as well also purchasing sectional titles, which are naturally secure estates. But people definitely want a secure environment where they feel that they are slightly more secure. We certainly are seeing a lot more activity in that particular segment of the market.
SIMON BROWN: What about the Free State, which is, I think, a province often overlooked. In recent chats with colleagues of yours over the years, there’s been some picking up in demand there as well.
JUSTIN EASTHORPE: Yes, absolutely. I think what’s astounding in the Eastern Cape – the Free State or the Eastern Cape?
SIMON BROWN: Eastern Cape. Yes, Gqeberha.
JUSTIN EASTHORPE: Absolutely. But if we can just talk about Free State, because I think it really is quite interesting, a statistic that we’re seeing is that 65% of applicants in the Free State are first-time homebuyers. And, like I said before, we need first-time homebuyers to drive the property market. That sort of statistic just shows that there’s a lot more activity happening in the Free State, and I’m sure it will continue.
SIMON BROWN: Those first-time homebuyers – you keep on saying that they’re important. They’re important because essentially those are new entrants into the market and they’re probably going to be there for decades. They will buy and sell, but they’re going to be there for 30, 40, 50 years.
JUSTIN EASTHORPE: Absolutely. That’s why we love them so much.
SIMON BROWN: [Chuckling] We’ll leave it there. Justin Easthorpe, provincial sales manager at ooba, I appreciate the time.
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