The total value of property development in 2023 in the Cape Town CBD exceeded R7.285 billion. This is an increase of over R3.730 bn compared with 2022. This has been revealed in the State of Cape Town Central City Report 2023 (SCCR), published by the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID).

Cape Town CBD property development exceeded R7.285 billion in 2023

Cape Town CBD property development

The CCID board chairperson Rob Kane says the increase is due to confidence in the investment potential of the Cape Town CBD. At the same time, economic sectors including business tourism, hospitality, eventing and retail, that also drive the inner-city economy, showed a strong rebound.

CCID Economic Report

Kane says 30 property developments or redevelopments were recorded last year. Of those, 9 worth more than R1.347 billion were completed. Eight worth more than R2.228 bn are under construction. At the same time, 10, worth more than R2.610 bn were in the planning phase. He added that 3 projects, worth more than R1.100 bn, have also been proposed.

A strong demand for inner-city accommodation

40 % of the property development projects or 12 were residential builds. This was followed by mixed-use builds (a mix of commercial and residential). It points to a strong demand for inner-city accommodation. Kane says the residential developments will add thousands of new units to the Cape Town CBD’s residential property market.

Other key findings in the SCCR include (extract from the report) :

In its assessment of the commercial sector, the report notes that there was fresh demand for office space in Cape Town CBD in 2023, leading to a decline in the office vacancy rate;

The office vacancy rate in the Cape Town CBD at the end of 2023 was 10.2 %, an improvement from the 13.3 % recorded in 2022 and the 16.1 % recorded in 2021.
The CBD still has the largest share (+39.4 %) of the total office space in Cape Town, as measured by the SA Property Owners’ Association (SAPOA).

Unique features of the report include:

A property investment map detailing the 30 locations of completed developments, current construction sites as well as those of planned and proposed projects;

An overview of the most resilient economic sectors in 2023;

A report on the visitor economy and hotel occupancy rates in 2023, as well as an overview of the eventing economy and parking in the inner city;

Top 10 factors affecting downtowns throughout the world;

A section on how the four precincts that make up the CCID’s 1.6 km² geographic footprint fared in 2023 with respect to business, property, economic and living trends;