Cape Town Rental & STR Market – Housing Data Portal

Housing Insights

Long-Term Rentals

Cape Town Rental Market (Q3 2025)

Data as of: Q3 2025 Source: PayProp, TPN, Property24

R11000+

Avg Monthly Rent

Western Cape

≈ €564 / $595

+10.1%

YoY Growth

Highest in SA

1.07%

Vacancy Rate

Record low

88.8%

Tenants in Good Standing

TPN Q3 2025

What is Vacancy Rate?

The vacancy rate measures the percentage of rental properties that are unoccupied and available for rent at any given time. A low vacancy rate (like Cape Town's 1.07%) indicates high demand and limited availability — meaning tenants face strong competition for available units.

< 3% = Very tight market — Landlords can be selective, rents rise quickly
3-5% = Balanced market — Healthy supply and demand
> 5% = Tenant-friendly — More choice, potential rent stabilisation

Average Rent by District (Q3 2025)

District	1 Bedroom	2 Bedroom	YoY Change
Camps Bay / Clifton	R15000–20000	R22000–35000	+12%
Sea Point	R12000–16000	R18000–24000	+11%
Green Point / Waterfront	R11000–15000	R15000–22000	+10%
City Bowl / CBD	R10000–14000	R14000–20000	+9%
Woodstock / Observatory	R8000–11000	R11000–15000	+8%
Southern Suburbs (Claremont, Rondebosch)	R8000–12000	R10000–15000	+7%
Hout Bay	R9000–13000	R12000–18000	+9%
Northern Suburbs (Durbanville, Bellville)	R7000–10000	R9000–13000	+6%
Blouberg / Table View	R7000–9000	R8000–12000	+7%

Source: PayProp, Seeff, Property24. Ranges reflect typical market prices.

Rental Growth: 1, 3, 5 Years

Period	From	To	Change
1 Year (2024 to 2025)	R10000	R11000+	+10.1%
3 Years (2022 to 2025)	R8023	R11000+	+37.0%
5 Years (2020 to 2025)	R7854	R11000+	+40.0%

Western Cape leads SA with 3 consecutive quarters of 9-10% growth. Gauteng: 5.2%, KZN: 4.8%.

Western Cape Average Rent (2018-2025)

Source: PayProp Rental Index

Short-Term Rentals

Inside Airbnb: Cape Town Data

Data as of: December 2025 Source: insideairbnb.com/cape-town

About Inside Airbnb

Inside Airbnb is a mission-driven project providing data and advocacy about Airbnb's impact on residential communities. Tagline: "Adding data to the debate."

Their vision: Data empowers communities to understand, decide and control the role of renting residential homes to tourists. Data licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

What is STR? STR stands for Short-Term Rental — properties rented nightly or weekly through platforms like Airbnb, as opposed to traditional long-term leases (typically 6-12 months).

Inside Airbnb Cape Town → Data Policies

26870

Total Listings

as of December 2025

81.8%

Entire Homes

as of December 2025

71%

Occupancy Rate

as of December 2025

R1700

Avg Nightly Rate

as of December 2025

≈ €87 / $92

Airbnb Listing Growth: 1, 3, 5 Years

Period	From	To	Change
1 Year (Dec 2024 to Dec 2025)	24000	26870	+12.0%
3 Years (Dec 2022 to Dec 2025)	16000	26870	+67.9%
5 Years (Dec 2020 to Dec 2025)	10500	26870	+155.9%

+2,870

new listings (1yr)

+10,870

new listings (3yr)

+16,370

new listings (5yr)

Includes COVID-19 recovery period. Pre-COVID peak: 14,000 listings (2019).

Listing Type Breakdown

Type	Count	%
Entire home/apartment	21986	81.8%
Private room	4622	17.2%
Shared room	81	0.3%
Hotel room	181	0.7%
Total	26870	100%

Host Concentration

Host Type	Hosts	%
Multi-listing hosts	3428	63.6%
Single-listing hosts	1959	36.4%

Commercial operators:

49 hosts with 15+ listings
3 hosts with 100+ listings
70%+ of listings from multi-property hosts

Top 8 Districts by Airbnb Density

	District	Est. Listings	Avg/Night
1	City Bowl / CBD	5662	R1400
2	Sea Point	~3800	R1800
3	Green Point	~3000	R1500
4	Camps Bay	~2000	R3000
5	Clifton / Bantry Bay	~1400	R3500
6	V&A Waterfront / Mouille Pt	~1200	R2200
7	Woodstock / Observatory	~1100	R1000
8	Hout Bay	~900	R1600

Source: Inside Airbnb ward-level data. 66% of entire-home listings in top 3 wards.

District Comparison

Airbnb Listing Growth (2016-2025)

Source: Inside Airbnb, Airbnb Impact Reports. COVID-19 dip visible in 2020-2021.

Key Milestones

2016: ~8,000 listings
2019: ~14,000 (pre-COVID peak)
2020: COVID crash, 24% vacancy
2022: Recovery, +190% in tourist areas
2025: 26,870 listings (#8 globally)

Cape Town now has more STR units than Barcelona and Berlin.

Global City Comparison

Cape Town Airbnb Hotspots

Full Interactive Map on Inside Airbnb →

Analysis

Housing Impact: Where STR Meets Rental Market

This section examines the intersection of short-term rental growth and the long-term rental market. The data suggests correlations in high-density tourist areas, though causation involves multiple factors.

Inner City Concentration

Ward 115 (CBD): 5662 Airbnb listings — roughly half of all residential units
City of Cape Town confirms 70% of inner city residential units are hotel-managed or STR
160 Airbnb listings/km² in central Cape Town vs 59/km² citywide
Atlantic Seaboard: +190% listing growth since 2022

Source: Inside Airbnb, City of Cape Town LSDF

STR vs Long-Term Rent Premium

Area	Airbnb/night	Monthly rent	STR 30-night
Camps Bay	R3000	R18000	R90000
Sea Point	R1800	R12000	R54000
City Bowl	R1400	R10000	R42000
Observatory	R1000	R8500	R30000

At 71% occupancy, STR hosts earn 2-4x more than long-term landlords.

Research Findings (Global)

For every 10% increase in Airbnb listings, long-term rents typically rise ~0.39% (US study)
Each commercial Airbnb listing displaces 0.23-0.37 long-term units (Berlin study)
Affected districts see up to 2.4% rent increase per m² (European research)

Note: Cape Town-specific causal studies are limited. Multiple factors affect housing prices.

Sources

Short-Term Rental Data

Rental Market Data

Research & Reporting

GroundUp: Inner city Cape Town
Business Report: Housing Crisis (Dec 2025)
City of Cape Town Local Spatial Development Framework

Currency conversions use 2025 average rates: €1 ≈ R19.5, $1 ≈ R18.5

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