Cape Town climbs in Savills Prime Index, rentals lead gains

• Cape Town’s prime values rose 3.2% in H1 2025; rentals up 6.5% on tight supply and lifestyle-led demand.
• H2 forecast: 6% - 7.9% price gains, placing Cape Town alongside Tokyo and Seoul as likely leaders.
• Tokyo (+8.8%) led H1; Berlin 7.2%, Dubai 5.7%, Seoul 5.1%, Amsterdam 3.6%, Cape Town competitive at 3.2%.

What the Index is and what it measures

The Savills World Cities Prime Residential Index tracks capital value and rental performance across 30 global cities’ prime housing markets. It benchmarks six-month movements in high-end sale prices, rents, and relative affordability to gauge investor momentum, supply constraints, and international demand.

Expert view

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“Despite a slowdown from the 2.2% growth recorded in 2024, capital values remained in positive territory, with 60% of cities posting gains in the first half of the year…” says Kelcie Sellers, Associate Director, Savills World Research. “Most markets with price falls only saw slight declines.”

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“Cities with strong lifestyle appeal, such as Amsterdam, Cape Town, Lisbon and Sydney, saw positive growth, buoyed by low levels of prime stock and sustained international interest… This sustained level of demand is likely to support further price growth,” notes Dr Andrew Golding, Chief Executive, Pam Golding Property Group, Savills’ exclusive residential partner in Africa.

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How Cape Town stacked up

Capital values (H1 2025):

• Tokyo: +8.8% (Index leader)
• Berlin: +7.2%
• Dubai: +5.7%
• Seoul: +5.1%
• Amsterdam: +3.6%
• Cape Town: +3.2% (with strong lifestyle pull and limited prime stock)

Prime rents (H1 2025):

• Tokyo: +7.8%
• Berlin: +6.3%
• Cape Town: +6.5%
• Amsterdam: +2.6%
  (rental resilience underscores income appeal while capital growth normalises)

Cape Town also retains a compelling value gap at an estimated US$260 psf (June 2025), a fraction of many tier-one peers—supporting both lifestyle migration and yield strategies.

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Going forward

Savills projects average capital value growth of ~1.5% across the Index in H2 2025, with Cape Town, Seoul and Tokyo expected to lead at +6% to +7.9%. On rentals, “we expect growth of, on average, 1% across the 30 cities we monitor, reflecting a general sense of cautious positivity,” adds Kelcie Sellers.

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Takeaway for offshore buyers: Cape Town’s combination of lifestyle demand, constrained prime stock, strong rental prints and relative value positions it to outperform into year-end—provided supply remains tight and international interest persists.

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Savills World Cities Prime Residential Index

‍Capital value growth by city H1 2025

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