SAPOA Q2 2026: national office vacancy falls to 12.1%, the lowest since before the pandemic

South Africa's office vacancy rate improved to 12.1% in the second quarter of 2026, down from 12.6% in the first quarter — and the lowest level since the first quarter of 2020, before the pandemic hit. The figures come from the SAPOA Office Vacancy Survey, and they show a recovery that is broadening, though still very uneven between cities, nodes and building grades.

Metro by metro

• Cape Town: 6.2% — 1.1 percentage points below its pre-pandemic level
• Tshwane: 8.5%
• Durban: 11.9% — 1.9 points below its pre-pandemic level
• Johannesburg: 15.1%
• Gqeberha: 15.6%, the highest of the major metros

Decentralised nodes beat the CBDs

Nationally, decentralised nodes were 11.0% vacant against 16.0% in the CBDs. Cape Town shows the gap most clearly: the V&A Waterfront sat at just 0.9%, Century City at 1.8%, Rondebosch/Newlands at 2.0%, Cape Town Central at 2.9%, Bellville at 3.2% and Claremont at 5.5% — while the Cape Town CBD was at 11.9%.

Grade is the real dividing line

Vacancy climbs steeply as you move down the quality ladder, and so do the rentals that landlords are asking:

• Prime: 4.6% vacancy, average asking rental R228/m²
• A-grade: 9.7% vacancy, R151/m²
• B-grade: 16.1% vacancy, R122/m²
• C-grade: 16.5% vacancy, R98/m²

In other words, tenants competing for well-located, top-quality space face a tight market, while older B- and C-grade buildings carry the bulk of the empty space. Our guide to office grades explained covers what the P, A, B and C classifications actually mean.

What it means for tenants

With national vacancy at its lowest since early 2020, tenants after top-grade space in the best nodes have fewer options to choose from, while those with flexibility on grade or location have far more. You can browse offices to let across South Africa or start from Cape Town, the tightest metro in the survey.

Source: SAPOA Office Vacancy Survey, Q2 2026, as reported by Baker Street Properties, 8 September 2026.

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