Graffiti on Cape Town's Sea Point promenade reading "Digital nomads go home! Now!" highlights growing tensions over the city's housing crisis, with short-term letting platforms like Airbnb facing much of the blame. Social media is filled with complaints about foreign accents, foreign buyers, and properties listed on Airbnb, all accused of driving up housing costs.
Property prices in Cape Town have risen 31% over the past five years, double the average of South Africa's seven other major metro areas, according to official data. Rents also increased by 5-7% last year, outpacing national averages, reports property research firm The Africanvestor.
The city's population grew 65% to 4.8 million between 2001 and 2022, yet housing and infrastructure development has lagged. Over 400,000 people were on the social housing waiting list as of September 2024, and 18.8% of residents live in informal housing. The city government says it has released more land for affordable housing since 2021 than in the previous decade, with 12,000 units in the pipeline.
A viral video in January featured 31-year-old Alexandra Hayes tearfully describing her impending homelessness after her landlord refused to renew her lease, opting instead to list the property on Airbnb. Commentator Amahle-Imvelo Jaxa noted that while housing debates have long centred on racial inequality, the crisis now affects white middle-class residents too.
Hayes, who earns about £895 a month, acknowledged persistent inequality: "When apartheid ended ... they never really paid attention to bring up the [historically] non-white areas up to the same standard of the white areas." Despite progress, people of colour still face racism in the rental market, with one Nigerian non-profit worker reporting slower responses from landlords than her white husband receives.
