South Africa’s building industry showed signs of recovery in May 2025, driven by a strong rebound in private sector building approvals, which rose 13% y-y in value and 16% in square meters, with the Western Cape leading across residential, office, industrial, and retail segments. However, growth remains highly uneven across provinces, with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal experiencing significant declines. The additions and alterations market, particularly for home renovations, benefited from lower interest rates and stabilising property prices, further supporting activity. While public sector tender activity also improved marginally in May, it remains well below 2024 levels. The Western Cape continued to outperform, surpassing pre-COVID levels and dominating national approval activity. Yet, the broader outlook remains fragile—Gauteng’s approvals hit a three-decade low, and national wholesale building material sales stayed weak. Lingering structural constraints, sluggish GDP growth (revised below 1%), and ongoing US trade tensions add further uncertainty, tempering the sector’s recovery momentum. Click here to download the provincial approvals or here for the latest public sector building tender activity (available to subscribers)
