Cape Town’s CBD notched up property development of more than R7.2 billion last year, exceeding the 2022 total by more than R3.7 billion.

This is among the key findings in the latest annual review published by the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) on property and business activity within its 1.6 km² footprint.

According to the 12th edition of the State of Cape Town Central City Report 2023 – A Year in Review, a total of 30 property developments or redevelopments were recorded last year: nine were completed (worth more than R1.3 billion); eight were under construction (worth more than R2.2 billion); 10 were in the planning phase (worth more than R2.6 billion) and three were proposed (worth more than R1.1 billion).

In a statement, the CCID said that 12 of the property developments (40 %) were residential builds, followed by mixed-use builds (combining commercial and residential), “indicating that the strong demand for inner-city accommodation is ongoing”.

The CCID said residential developments “are set to add thousands of new units to the Cape Town CBD’s residential property market”.

According to CCID board chairperson Rob Kane, 2023 was the year the Cape Town CBD “decisively” turned the post-Covid corner.

Says Kane: “It’s evident from the report that the Cape Town CBD, unlike its other South African counterparts and many around the world, has rebounded markedly post-pandemic, with the regrowth and stability it showed in 2022 continuing well into 2023.

“This bodes well for the future of Cape Town and its CBD,” says Kane. “The most significant indicator of investor confidence is the sustained growth in the overall official value of all property in the inner city which has increased from R6 bn in 2006 to R42.8 bn in 2023, according to the City of Cape Town’s property evaluation.”

Kane says apart from the construction sector’s “impressive growth”, other key economies that drive business and investment into the Cape Town CBD and also showed a strong performance were business tourism, hospitality, eventing and retail.

The State of Cape Town Central City Report 2023 notes that “at least 10 of the 17 business sectors that operate in the Cape Town CBD experienced growth in 2023 with the number of business entities overall increasing by 186, from 3 116 in 2022 to 3 302 in 2023”.

“Of these, the top five that recorded a positive output were retail; general corporates and head offices; ICT, telecoms and call centres; finance, investment, insurance and banking and artistic studios.”

In its assessment of the commercial sector, the report notes that there was fresh demand for office space in the Cape Town CBD in 2023, leading to a further decline in the office vacancy rate from 13.3% in 2022 to 10.2% last year. It was 16.1% in 2021.

[Image: Ryan Warneke, Cape Town Central City Improvement District]

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