Notes on the South African property market.
The tools agents run, what the portals charge them for, and what property markets elsewhere built before ours. Every number sourced, every gap named.
What property markets elsewhere built, and which parts of that travel to South Africa.
A London startup, Find Properly, shared our name until a rival bought it in 2014. Its sale opens a sourced history of Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket.
6 min readThe Zillow Zestimate explained: where it's accurate, where it isn't, and how the $881 million Zillow Offers bet collapsed. Notes for SA agents.
6 min read
Elsewhere in the guide
- What a property report costs in South Africa in 2026: R48 to R235, and what you actually get
Nine sellers, one address: prices run from R48 to R235 a report. What each one shows, how long it takes, and where findproperly's R99 sits.
- The vacancy schedule, read properly
Western Cape landlords circulate lists of vacant commercial space to brokers, priced per square metre. Where vacancy schedules live, and how to read one.
- Nobody knows how many estate agents South Africa has. Not even the regulator
How many estate agents in South Africa? The regulator's own planning document admits no full database of practitioners. Nobody has an official count.
- Property24 vs Private Property vs MyProperty: where your listing money actually goes
Property24 vs Private Property vs MyProperty: how each portal charges SA agencies in 2026, and which one hasn't shown a rate card since March 2020.
- Every tool a South African estate agency pays for in 2026 (and what it costs)
Estate agency software in South Africa, 2026: what Property24, PropCtrl, Lightstone and WinDeed cost, with every price dated to its source.
- What is a CMA and what does one cost in South Africa in 2026?
What is a CMA? A comparative market analysis prices a home against nearby sales. How to read them, and what Lightstone, WinDeed and CMAInfo charge in 2026.