September 26 2025 23:45
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
The Cape Town CBD saw property development exceed R9bn for the first time last year.
It’s clear that investor confidence in the CBD continues to rise as was evident in the recently released the State of Cape Town Central City Report 2024 – A Year in Review (SCCR), published annually by the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID). It said that in its 2024/25 financial year, the total value of property development exceeded R9.031bn, a significant jump from the R7.285bn recorded in 2023.
Now in its 13th edition, the report showed investment is popular in this high-growth urban economy that is bucking national trends. With an official property valuation of R42.5bn and over R4bn in new developments already in planning, the City Centre has positioned itself as a premier destination for long-term capital growth and property-driven income opportunities.
The 2024/25 period saw 27 developments in the Cape Town CBD: five completed projects worth over R1.02bn, 11 under construction valued at R3.93bn, and eight in the planning phase with a combined worth exceeding R4.08bn. Two projects were proposed and one was on hold. Residential properties led the way, making up 44% of all new developments, followed by a growing number of mixed-use buildings, reflecting sustained demand for inner-city living. Clearly there is a demand to live in the CBD.
There has also been a shortage of luxury hotels but at least two are under construction. Mama Shelter Cape Town and One on Bree, are under construction within mixed-use developments and are expected to strengthen the city’s position as a year-round destination for both leisure and business travellers.
Rob Kane, chairperson of the CCID and CEO of Boxwood Property Fund, said the size and scope of recent developments underscored investor confidence.
“All the big players in property development are prepared to invest in the Cape Town CBD. We’re getting more interest from national and international investors, too. Ultimately, more buildings mean more people, which translates into a busy, bustling, vibrant area, and augurs well for the day- and nighttime economies,” said Kane.
Research in the 84-page SCCR 2024 is a valuable tool for investors, developers, and business and property owners seeking to invest in ‘South Africa’s most business-friendly city centre’, according to Kane.
One of the key business sectors, retail, which makes up 1 323 of the 3 290 business entities, increased its footprint in 2024, with 18 new retail outlets opening their doors.
Retail confidence in the Cape Town CBD, as measured in the CCID’s quarterly Business Confidence Index, remained buoyant in 2024. By the end of the year, an impressive 91.0 % of retailers surveyed indicated they were “satisfied” with current business conditions.
At least 11 of the 18 business sectors that operate in the Cape Town CBD experienced growth in 2024, with the number of business entities overall totalling 3 290.
These include the top two sectors, namely the legal and medical sectors, which both expanded in 2024. Other sectors experiencing growth were finance, investment, insurance and banking; comms, media and advertising; specialised services; education and resources, property and real estate; co-working spaces and embassies & consulates.
According to the State of Cape Town Central City Report 2024 – A Year in Review (SCCR, the total volume (m²) of retail space available in the Cape Town CBD in 2024 amounted to 274 320 m², marginally higher than the 262 815 m² recorded at the end of 2023.
This increase is attributed to the completion of the R200m retail development, The Mutual, a new shopping centre which introduced 7 500 m² to the CBD, with anchor tenants Checkers and Mr Price.
The total retail space occupied across the CCID’s footprint in the CBD in 2024 amounted to 257 875 m², an increase of 10 852 m² from the 247 023 m² recorded in 2023.
The total vacancy rate of retail space in the Cape Town CBD of 16 445 m² amounted to 6 % of the total retail space available. This is same vacancy rate as the previous year.
The office vacancy rate in the Cape Town CBD at the end of 2023 was 9.4%, which is an improvement on the 10.2 % recorded at the end of 2023, the 13. % recorded in 2022 and the 16.1 % recorded in 2021. The CBD still has the largest share (40%) of the total office space in the city of Cape Town, as measured by the SA Property Owners’ Association (Sapoa).
alistair@propertyflash.co.za
ANNEXURES:
Features of the report include:
- Property investment map detailing the 27 locations of completed developments, current construction sites as well as those of planned and proposed projects;
- Overview of the most resilient economic sectors in 2024;
- Report on the visitor economy and hotel occupancy rates in 2024, as well as an overview of the booming cruise economy;
- The challenges and opportunities facing global cities and CBDs;
- A deep dive into the results of the CCID’s annual online dipstick Residential Survey which surveys why people live in the CBD.
- Section on how the four precincts that make up the CCID’s 1.6 km² geographic footprint fared in 2024 with respect to business, property, economic and living trends.
