Category: Uncategorized

South Africa’s economy remained deeply fragile in June 2025, with weak growth, deteriorating business confidence, and persistent structural constraints undermining recovery prospects. Sharp contractions in manufacturing (-6.3% y/y) and mining (-7.7% y/y), particularly in platinum group metals (-24.1%), weighed heavily on output. Retail trade showed selective resilience, but hardware and building materials sales stayed deeply…

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Cement imports surged by more than 100 percent year-on-year in May 2025, reaching 98,313 tons. The three main source countries remained Vietnam, Mozambique, and Namibia. Although imports from Vietnam declined compared to April, imports from Mozambique and Namibia increased by an average of 5.5 percent month-on-month and between 60 percent and 90 percent year-on-year. Despite…

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The CRMS Index fell by 0.6% in June 2025 as strong gains in Balwin Properties (up 24.5%), PPC (up 10.7%), and Raubex were offset by steep losses in Afrimat and weaker performance in suppliers and non-residential property funds. While contractor and cement manufacturer profitability improved, retailers and suppliers remained under pressure amid declining construction material…

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The composite Construction Material Price Index, fell by 0.3 percent y-y in May 2025, as construction cost continued to slow since the start of 2025. Following an average 6.1 percent increase in construction materials during 2024, cost inflation slowed to an average of 1.4 percent in the first five months of 2025. A month on…

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While gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) data had already shown a moderate outlook for construction investment in Q1 2025, more detailed quarterly financial statistics released for December 2025 paint a contrasting picture, revealing a strong 21.2% year-on-year increase in construction sector turnover, reaching R90 billion. This growth was driven largely by medium-sized enterprises, which saw…

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Kempton Park in Ekurhuleni led the country in 2024 for private sector building approvals, with projects valued at R4.3 billion—making it the top-performing area nationally. It was followed closely by the southern and central western regions of Tshwane in second and third place, while the City of Johannesburg and Table Bay in the Western Cape…

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In May 2025, South Africa’s public sector building pipeline continued to show signs of weakness, with the total estimated tender value for the month reaching R916 million—an 8.7% year-on-year increase, but still the lowest in three months and driven largely by a low base effect. While provinces like Gauteng and the Western Cape recorded strong…

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Residential property prices have steadily increased reaching an above inflationary increase of 5.2 percent y-y in January 2025, or 2.2 percent adjusted for inflation. In real terms, this is the best performarnce in the residential property market since 2020/21 following migration trends post lockdown combined with record low interest rates that provided a temporary boost…

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In May 2025, South Africa’s construction sector experienced a mixed performance. While the total number of projects awarded dropped 29.2% year-on-year to just 131—the lowest since August 2022—the total value of awards increased by 11.7% to R5.9 billion. This divergence was driven by several large-scale civil and building contracts, including a R1.2 billion photovoltaic and…

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Construction Monitor May 2025: South Africa’s construction sector in May 2025 continued to reflect a dichotomy between renewed investment optimism and deep-rooted structural weaknesses. On one hand, the civil construction market showed notable growth, with project awards exceeding R53 billion in the first four months—driven by large water and transport contracts. National Treasury reaffirmed over…

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