Is Cape Town's real estate boom hiding a critical housing crisis?

A preliminary report uncovers many factors, including the alarming financialisation of housing in Cape Town, that is adding to a deepening housing crisis.

lunedì 1 giugno 2026 New tab

7,348 words~33 min read

Cape Town - a mixed bag.

By Make the Shift and Ndifuna Ukwazi

Cape Town has a global reputation as a premier tourist destination and a real estate goldmine.

However, beneath the glossy surface of luxury developments and skyrocketing property values lies a troubling structural shift.

An upcoming preliminary report, The Financialisation of Housing in Cape Town, written by Sam Freeman, director of Legal Research and Advocacy at Make the Shift and Robyn Park-Ross, Urban Planning Research consultant for Ndifuna Ukwazi, set for release this June, warns that treating housing primarily as a financial asset rather than a home is actively destabilising the city’s fragile housing system.