South Africa Building Permits Recover

The value of building plans approved in South Africa surged by 16.9% year-on-year to ZAR 8708 million in March 2026, following a 11% drop in the prior month. Increases were seen for residential buildings (27.3% vs 8.4% in February); additions & alterations (10.2% vs -6.1%) and non-residential buildings (1.2% vs -43.6%).

The value of building plans approved in South Africa slipped by 11.2% year-on-year to ZAR 7394 million in February 2026, following an upwardly revised 1.2% rise in the prior month. Steep declines in permits for non-residential buildings (-43.6% vs 27.7% in January) and additions & alterations (-6.1% vs -15.5%) more than offset the increase in residential ones (8.4% vs 1%).

The value of building plans approved in South Africa rose by 0.2% year-on-year to ZAR 6275 million in January 2026, following a 14.3% decline in the prior month. Permits rebounded for non-residential buildings (27.7% vs -46% in December), but decreased for additions and alterations (-15.5% vs -12.5%) and residential projects (-1.1% vs 3.7%).