Property development in the Cape Town CBD “skyrocketed” in 2025/26, with the total value of property development exceeding R12.8 billion – 41% more than the R9 billion recorded in 2024.
This emerges from the latest State of Cape Town Central City Report 2025 – A Year in Review (SCCR), published by the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID).
The CCID says that of the 29 developments “in the pipeline” in 2025/26, eight were completed (worth more than R1.9bn); 14 were under construction (worth more than R5.4bn); five were in the planning phase (worth R5.4bn) and two were proposed, with values to be confirmed.
Overall, the 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 R6.2bn.
The CCID notes that “[a]ffordable 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 developments include four mixed-use projects (which include apartments), valued at R3.8bn.
These include the R1.2bn project to convert the landmark Golden Acre office tower in Adderley Street into a residential and retail development, with 450 apartments.
Another is the mixed-use R1.3bn City Park project, a redevelopment of the former Christiaan Barnard Hospital in Bree Street, which will incorporate Africa’s first Mama Shelter Hotel, as well as residential units. A third is the R1.1bn One on Bree, with a luxury hotel of more than 500 rooms, and 279 residential units.
The CCID says 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”.
The SCCR reports that 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 the second quarter of this year. This is the lowest office vacancy rate in South Africa.
The retail sector in central Cape Town increased its footprint with the opening of 172 new outlets over the reporting period, to account for 1 495 of the 3 547 businesses operating in the city centre in 2025.
The top two non-retail sectors – the legal and medical professions – both expanded in 2025, with growth also registered in the finance, investment & insurance, ICT, BPO and telecoms, accommodation, architecture, and property & real estate sectors.
Said Rob Kane, CCID Board chairperson and CEO of Boxwood Property Fund: “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.”
[Image: Artist’s impression of the City Park & Mama Shelter Hotel & Residences. dhk Architects]