August 1 2026 11:30
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
Investor confidence in the Cape Town CBD exploded in 2025/26, with the total value of property development exceeding R12.8bn; 41 % more than the R9bn recorded in 2024.
The inner-city economy also benefited from the stable performance of its key economic sectors, including BPO, business and leisure tourism, and the rise of the creative economy. This is according to State of Cape Town Central City Report (SCCR) 2025. The report is published annually by the CCID.
The Central City remained a business-friendly environment experiencing solid growth, chairman of the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID), Rob Kane said.Business confidence remained high throughout 2025, with retail performing strongly. The non-retail sector was dominated by the legal, medical and finance sectors.
The residential property market experienced a boom with the median price of sectional title units sold in the CBD increasing by 5.4 % to R1.92m.
Research in the 14th edition of the SCCR reflected a CBD economy in fine fettle, building on strengths achieved in 2024, Kane said. The CCID’s flagship publication, the report focuses on the organisation’s 1.74 km² geographical footprint in the Central City, the country’s most economically sound urban hub.
The 84-page report was released to Cape Town business and property groups and individuals on 29 July 2026. Its research is a tool for investors, developers, and business and property owners seeking to invest in South Africa’s most business-friendly city centre.
PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS
The property investment results show 29 developments in the pipeline in 2025/26: eight were completed (worth more than R1.9bn); 14 were under construction (worth more than R5.4 bn); five were in the planning phase (worth R5.4bn) and two were proposed, with values to be confirmed.
The overall official value of all property in the CBD is R42.6bn, according to the City of Cape Town’s 2022 property evaluation.
More than half of the builds in the pipeline are residential properties valued at R6.2 bn. Affordable housing also features strongly, with the Western Cape government paving the way to put two developments on the map – conservatively estimated at R2.9bn and the City of Cape Town releasing civic land for a future affordable housing residential complex.
New additions to the skyline are coming in the form of four mixed-use builds (which also include apartments) valued at R3.8bn.
One of the noteworthy is the R1.2bn project to convert the landmark CBD Golden Acre office tower in Adderley Street into a residential and retail development with 450 apartments.
There is also City Park, which is being created from the R1.3bn redevelopment of the former Christiaan Barnard Hospital in Bree Street. Key to this build is the inclusion of Africa’s first Mama Shelter Hotel. The brand, set to open in the spring, will have residences in the building reimagined by dhk Architects. Then, at the bottom of Bree Street is another luxury hotel offering, namely the R1.1bn One on Bree, which will add +500 rooms to the CBD hotel pool and over 279 residences.
Rob Kane who is also CEO of Boxwood Property Fund said: “It’s astonishing to see development of this magnitude but the real story is that these numbers not only reflect, but also inspire, investor confidence. And, more importantly, what happens when confidence becomes concentrated in one place.”
Kane also noted the increase in international and Gauteng developers keen to be part of the Cape Town CBD’s growth.
At least 12 of the 21 retail and non-retail entities that do business in the Cape Town CBD grew in 2025, with the overall number totalling 3 547. The top two non-retail sectors, namely the legal and medical professions, both expanded in 2025. Other sectors experiencing growth were finance, investment & insurance; ICT, BPO & telecoms; accommodation; architecture; and property & real estate. One of the key business sectors, namely retail – which makes up 1 495 of the 3 547 businesses operating in 2025 – once again increased its footprint, with 172 new retail outlets opening their doors.
According to the CCID’s Business Confidence Index, in the final quarter of 2025, 98 % of retailers surveyed reported favourable business conditions, which was a significant increase on the 92 % recorded in 2024.
The State of Cape Town Central City Report 2025 showed high occupancy rates characterised retail with the sector maintaining a stable 88 % occupancy rate at the end of the year across the CCID’s four precincts. Of the 1 704 retail units available, 1 495 were occupied and actively trading with vacant units at 12.3 %.
Other key findings in the SCCR include:
- The office vacancy rate in the Cape Town metropole (the city as a whole) at the end of 2025 was 6.1 %, increasing to 6.2 % in Q2 2026. This is the lowest office vacancy rate in South Africa.
- The Cape Town CBD office rate was 10 % at the end of Q4 2025, increasing to 11.9 % in Q2 2026.
- Asking rentals in the Cape Town CBD for Premium grade office space are the most competitively priced in the city.
- The CBD still has the largest share (39 %) of the total office space in the city of Cape Town, as measured by the SA Property Owners’ Association (SAPOA).
Unique features of the report include:
- A property investment map detailing the 29 locations of completed developments, current construction sites as well as those of planned and proposed projects;
- An overview of the standout economic sectors in 2025;
- A report on the visitor economy and hotel occupancy rates in 2025, as well as the increasing contribution of the creative sector to the Central City’s day- and night-time economies;
- The challenges and opportunities facing global cities and CBDs;
- A deep dive into the results of the CCID’s quarterly Business Confidence Index, which tracks confidence levels of business owners across the CCID’s four precincts in the CBD;
- A section on how the four precincts that make up the CCID’s 1.74 km² geographic footprint fared in 2025 with respect to business, property, economic and living trends.
247@propertyflash.co.za
