Rising municipal rates, higher insurance premiums, ageing infrastructure and increased security and compliance costs are placing additional pressure on schemes in 2026, further driving affordability concerns among buyers.
South African homebuyers facing rising living costs are increasingly filtering property searches by levy amount before considering purchase price.
However, Just Property CEO Paul Stevens cautions that the trend may be steering buyers into costly traps, particularly in sectional title schemes where unusually low levies can mask financial instability.
He says affordability pressures are understandable, but warns that a low levy is not always a positive indicator. In some cases, it may reflect sound management, but in others it can signal that essential costs are not being properly accounted for.
Rising municipal rates, higher insurance premiums, ageing infrastructure and increased security and compliance costs are placing additional pressure on schemes in 2026, further driving affordability concerns among buyers.
