There has been a significant uptick in activity within the Cape Town City Center with a notable increase in demand for office space. Potential tenants are showing interest in the higher end of the sector, new buildings as well as recently upgraded A Grade office spaces. We are not seeing many businesses looking at taking larger spaces, but rather similar size or a small reduction in usable space.

This is understandable as businesses still grapple with the hybrid WFH model. Tied in to this trend, is how business is looking at the traditional office layout and making more provision for flexible work stations, hot desks and better facilities for staff. In discussion we have had with business owners, it is far more important now to create an office environment where staff will want to come to the office. Many still see some resistance to coming back to the office and having better staff facilities will have a positive impact on this.
With very few new developments underway, focus is on building conversions as well as re-energizing some of the older buildings in the city. We have seen a number of traditional office blocks changing their offering to include mixed use and residential suites whilst still having some commercial tenants. Where inner city living is not the right way to go with a building, owners are putting effort into re-vamping the buildings, internally, external upgrades as well as branding of the buildings.

The pandemic may have had a long lasting impact on the commercial property sector, and with there still being a lot of uncertainty on what will transpire in the future, the city remains a viable location for many local as well as international business. Landlords will continue to compete for tenants, and with the number of redevelopments and building upgrades in progress, this means a much better choice for tenants.

See our Commercial Property to Let in Cape Town City Center.