A shortage of two-bedroom apartments and 'suitable family homes', as well as the National Credit Act, have also had an impact on rentals.

Latest figures from Rode & Associates, one of South Africa's largest property-valuation firms, show that one-bedroom apartments in middle-income suburbs in Johannesburg rent for between R2850 and R6000 a month.

While monthly rentals in Melville, Auckland Park and Westdene average R2850, tenants in Rosebank, Killarney and Illovo are paying an average R6000.

However, one-bedroom flats in Johannesburg's inner-city areas of Joubert Park, Braamfontein, Hillbrow, Berea and Parktown average R2961.

While an average monthly rental for a two-bedroom apartment in Cape Town's Mouille Point is about R3600, one home in the suburb is advertised at R7500 a month.

Last month, PGP's rental agents in Cape Town closed several deals, including a year-long lease for a four-bedroom home in Oranjezicht, near the city, at R28 000 a month; and a 'bargain' R23 000 a month for a two-bedroom apartment in the V&A Waterfront.

Source: Business Times