Eastern Cape’s major metros are seeing an influx of people from surrounding rural areas, driven by access to tertiary education at the province’s major universities and the search for meaningful employment opportunities. Though the urbanisation trend is not unique to the Eastern Cape, the province’s metros are particularly understocked to meet the high demand for affordable housing, according to Letlatsa Lekhelebana, Senior Portfolio Manager and Funeka Ndalasi, Portfolio Manager at TUHF in the Eastern Cape.

Despite less than 300km separating the Eastern Cape cities of East London from Gqeberha (formally Port Elizabeth), the contrast in the residential rental property market could not be more significant.