Gauteng is seeing a strong influx of semigrants from the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
Gauteng is seeing a strong influx of semigrants from the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), but the Western Cape continues to see the largest influx.
The Western Cape has been seen as the heart of semigration due to better governance and a growing number of businesses.
Nevertheless, the 2026 Wise Move Migration Report showed that more movers are heading to Gauteng despite ongoing infrastructure woes in the province.
The report showed that moves from the Western Cape to Gauteng were up 58.6% in 2025, and moves from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng were also 54.0% higher.
The report noted that the move from the Western Cape to Gauteng is focused on relocations to specific areas and suburban nodes.
“Within the Western Cape, return movement into Gauteng is led primarily by Cape Town-based
departures,” the report said.
“The strongest origin concentrations appear in the Northern Suburbs and northern growth corridor, including Durbanville, Brackenfell, Burgundy Estate, Kraaifontein, and Bellville.”
Movers from the Western Cape are also coming from Blaauwberg and the West Coast strip, as well as Hout Bay.
In Gauteng, new semigrants are concentrated in established economic and residential nodes instead
of peripheral areas.
Gauteng areas of Bryanston, Morningside, Illovo, Sandown, and Houghton Estate are sought-after, as are secondary concentrations in Lone Hill, Ferndale, Brooklyn, and Faerie Glen.
“This pattern suggests that return movement is being shaped less by broad perceptions of province-level appeal and more by practical household priorities,” said Wise Move.
“Movers appear to be leaving established suburban areas in Cape Town and resettling in well-connected parts of Gauteng with close access to employment, infrastructure, and long-term residential stability.”
For those from KZN, many are leaving the greater eThekwini region rather than being evenly distributed across KwaZulu-Natal.
Durban accounted for 11.8% of the KZN-Gauteng bookings in 2025, followed by Berea at 11.4%. Other semigrants are coming from eManzimtoti and Ballito, within the large urban corridor.
Like with the Western Cape semigrants, arrivals in Gauteng were mainly focused in the main business destinations, with Sandton accounting for 18.0% of arrivals.
The majority of moves were also drawn to established well-connected urban areas, such as Bryanston, Sunninghill, and Fourways in Sandton, and Queenswood in Pretoria.
While there has been a shift to Gauteng, the large number of movers is not yet reflected in the rental data, which remains unimpressive.
The PayProp Rental Index showed that the province’s growth hasn’t beaten the national average since Q3 2023. In Q1 2026, rents grew by 4.3%, compared with a national average of 4.7%.
While Gauteng is experiencing a growing influx of semigrants, the Gauteng-to-Western Cape route remains the largest interprovincial move.
The subdued rental growth comes as many leave Gauteng and new arrivals are unable to replace them. The Western Cape remains the only big-three province seeing net positive semigration.
“While rents in Gauteng have remained stubbornly below average, the Western Cape experienced above-average rental growth in all four quarters of 2025,” said PayProp.
Movers are also willing to give up space to get to the Western Cape, with movers more likely to downsize than to upsize, while the opposite was true for those going the other way.
Data from Ooba showed that house prices and rents in the Western Cape are the highest in the country, while Gauteng has only the third-highest rents, averaging R9,600 a month in Q1 2026.
Source: Wise Move
