Property

The tiny ‘cities’ booming across South Africa

Luke Fraser

 ·21 Mar 2026

Mixed-use neighbourhoods in South Africa are seeing massive price growth, with buyers and investors drawn to the amenities on offer.

Mixed-use areas, which are often called a “city within a city,” have become key 15-minute neighbourhoods, where everything is within walking distance.

This reduces the need for commutes, while also providing a high-quality, integrated work-live-play lifestyle.

These neighbourhoods offer diverse land use across residential, hospitality, and commercial sectors.

Seeff said that these mixed-use neighbourhoods are generally highly sought by investors for high rental demand and stable yields.

They often boast a high percentage of residential rental investments, with yields of 7% to 10%.

Seeff said that mixed-use neighbourhoods in Cape Town have been among the best-performing in the country, with double-digit YoY price growth over five years. This tops both national and Cape Town averages.

Prices in top neighbourhoods are up by 30% to 50% over five years and by 12% to 16% YoY.

This outpaces the average of 9.1% for Cape Town and 6.6% nationally for last year, based on StatsSA data from around September 2025.

These mixed-use areas have become key 15-minute neighbourhoods where everything is within walking distance, reducing commuting stress while providing a high-quality, integrated work-live-play lifestyle.

These are quality neighbourhoods offering diverse land use across residential, hospitality, and commercial sectors.

Helga Clemo, licensee for Seeff Century City in Cape Town, said the lifestyle has been wholeheartedly embraced by tenants, buyers and investors, and that the area is flourishing.

Prices in Century City have been up by over 20% over the last two years. Sellers and landlords are achieving great results right now as stock levels are low due to the sustained high demand.

The Century City market is experiencing a multi-year high with properties for sale and rent being snapped up rapidly.

Apart from young professionals, over one-third are under 35, and mixed-use neighbourhoods have also become primary “semigration” destinations, according to Clemo.

Century City offers offices, hotels, convention facilities, the Canal Walk shopping centre, Virgin Active, Intaka Island Nature Reserve, MyCiti bus access, and close proximity to the CBD.

Century City’s “lock-up-and-go” mixed-use lifestyle is also complemented by views of Table Mountain.

Other popular mixed-use areas in Cape Town include the CBD, which has seen 53.5% price growth over the last five years.

The V&A Waterfront has also seen a 5-year growth of 28%, with the average price of a residential unit standing at R18 million, while the Tyger Waterfront has seen growth of 31% over the last five years.

Countrywide growth

In Century City, the average sales price is now R2.85 million, with Seeff seeing sales up to R6.9 million over the last year.

Landlords have also achieved strong yields, with the average rental now around R19,100 per month and top-end rentals over R80,000 per month.

Properties are mostly sectional titles, comprising 83% of the stock, along with freeholds in estates, 17%.

While sectional titles vary between R1.8 million and R3 million, full-titles range between R3.5 million and R4.5 million, but can reach up to R16 million.

Other popular mixed-use neighbourhoods in South Africa outside Cape Town include Menlyn Maine in Pretoria East, which has seen 28% growth over 5 years, with prices ranging from R1.95 million to R3.2 million.

Melrose Arch in Johannesburg has also seen 18% growth over five years, with prices ranging from R3.1 million to R4.5 million.

Prices in Umhlanga Ridge, Durban, have also risen by 42% over 5 years, to a range of R2.8 million to R5.5 million.

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