Cape Town CBD housing crunch: Who are we really building for?

Cape Town's rapid urban growth has led to a pressing question: how can we balance the need for new housing with the city's geographical constraints?

One of the key issues facing Cape Town is the disparity between the city's popular Central Business District (CBD) and the surrounding areas. “We're building more, but we're building far away from people's places of work,” laments Professor Francois Viruly, a property economist at the University of Cape Town. This has led to a situation where many residents are priced out of the market, unable to afford the flats being built in the CBD.

"We are building, but we're not building enough close to our CBD, where the employment opportunities are.”

Another challenge facing Cape Town is the rise of Airbnb and the impact it's having on the city's property landscape. Viruly explains that many developments are now being built with one-bedroom apartments, which are ideal for short-term rentals. However, this has led to a shortage of two- and three-bedroom flats for families. "We're not building two-bedroom, three-bedroom flats for families,"says Viruly. "Yes, we are building flats, we are converting offices into residential, but then it comes back to the question, ‘Who are we building for?’"

The issue of affordability is a pressing one in Cape Town, where 80% of households earn less than R22,000 per month. Viruly notes that many of the new flats being built are priced out of reach for these households.

He argues that the City of Cape Town needs to densify the city centre.

Click below to listen to Viruly explain the City’s affordable housing conundrum and the potential solutions: