Cape Town’s central business district saw more than R7.2 billion in property development last year, topping the forecast for 2022 by more than R3.7 billion.
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The Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) has published an annual analysis of property and business activity inside its 1.6 km² boundary. This is one of the significant results.
According to the 12th edition of the State of Cape Town Central City Report 2023 – A Year in Review, 30 property developments or redevelopments were recorded last year: nine completed (worth more than R1.3 billion), eight under construction (worth more than R2.2 billion), ten in the planning phase (worth more than R2.6 billion), and three proposed (worth more than R1.1 billion).
In a statement, the CCID stated that 12 of the property developments (40%) were residential builds, followed by mixed-use builds (combining commercial and residential), ‘showing that the high demand for inner-city accommodation is continue.’
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The CCID stated that residential constructions will ‘bring thousands of new apartments to the Cape Town CBD’s residential property market.’
According to CCID board chairperson Rob Kane, 2023 was the year that the Cape Town CBD ‘decisively’ turned the post-Covid corner.
‘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,’ says Kane.
‘This bodes well for the future of Cape Town and its CBD.’
‘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.’
According to Kane, in addition to the construction sector’s ‘exceptional growth,’ other important industries that bring business and investment into the Cape Town CBD performed well, including business tourism, hospitality, eventing, and retail.
The State of Cape Town Central City Report 2023 states 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 mentions that there was new demand for office space in the Cape Town CBD in 2023, resulting in a further decrease in the office vacancy rate from 13.3% in 2022 to 10.2% last year. It was 16.1 percent in 2021.
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Picture: Murray Swart
