Is Bell Glen affordable?

Bell Glen is among the more affordable suburbs in Cape Town. With a median property value of R540K, it falls in the 16th percentile, below most of the city. Note that these figures are based on the City of Cape Town General Valuation 2022 and reflect municipal valuations, not necessarily current market prices.

What are utility costs in Bell Glen?

The median monthly water cost per account in Bell Glen is R261, 60% below the city median of R658.

What is the municipal debt in Bell Glen?

As of May 2026, the average outstanding municipal debt per account in Bell Glen is R14,801, 68% above the city median of R8,815. Figures include all account types, so may overstate household debt in areas with commercial activity.

Bell Glen

A suburb with more affordable property values, responsive municipal services, and well-connected public transport relative to Cape Town.

Neighbourhood data for Bell Glen

Safety data not available. Property, school, and service data shown below.

Property4-600kTop 84%Healthcare4 facilitiesmoderate access CouncilBelow avg complaints1d median resolution TransportMinibus taxi coveragewell-connected area

The neighbourhood

What's it like to live here?

Bell Glen is a neighbourhood in Helderberg, Cape Town, where property values place it among the more affordable areas in Cape Town. The area's safety profile is well above the city average for reported safety. There are several places of worship in the area. The dominant commuter mode is private vehicle.

How is the area changing?

In Bell Glen, crime is rising based on the most recent quarterly comparison. Property values have broadly tracked inflation between valuation rolls.

What should buyers know?

School and matric pass rate data is limited for Bell Glen. In this area, the City typically resolves service complaints promptly. The suburb has several healthcare facilities within reasonable distance.

Neighbourhood summary generated from StreetSignal data and reviewed by our team.

These statistics describe the suburb as a whole. Conditions vary between streets and neighbourhoods within any suburb.

For home buyers & families

Is Bell Glen safe?

Safety index suppressed

Insufficient data. bell-glen makes up a very small share of the Macassar police precinct, so we cannot reliably separate its crime data from the rest of the precinct. Rather than show a score that could be misleading, we have withheld it.

Source: SAPS via DataFirst · Q4 2025/2026

FOR BUYERS & INVESTORS

What do properties cost in Bell Glen?

16th percentile

The median property value in Bell Glen is R540K. Property values have grown by 4.8% per year since 2018.

A 4.8% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the valuation period.

Value band distribution – Bell Glen properties (GV2022)

0-200k

2-400k

4-600k ◀

6-800k

800k-1M

1-1.5M

Property values are based on the City of Cape Town's 2022 General Valuation roll. GV is an assessed value for municipal rating purposes; transaction prices frequently exceed GV. Recent sales transaction data and rental market data are not available as open data in South Africa.

Median GV2022: R540,000
Value growth (CAGR 2018–2022): +4.8% per year↑ Growing
City-wide value percentile: 16th percentile
Dominant value band: 4-600k
Source: CCT GV 2022 · Open Data Policy 27781
Vintage: General Valuation 2022 (municipal valuation, not current market price)

Source: City of Cape Town GV2022

FOR RESIDENTS

What do utilities cost in Bell Glen?

Computed from City of Cape Town billing data

Water

R261 / month

60% below city median

Electricity

This area is supplied by Eskom. City of Cape Town electricity billing data is not available.

Water trend:Dec 2025: R332Jan 2026: R261Feb 2026: R230

Monthly cost per account from City of Cape Town billing data. Water coverage: 647 suburbs. Electricity coverage: 384 suburbs.

INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

Development activity in Bell Glen

↑ Increasing

Bell Glen had 6 building plans approved in the last three financial years (FY22/23 to FY24/25), averaging 2 per year. Most were renovations and extensions.

3-year approvals: 6
Annual average: 2/yr
Avg project value: R298K

Building plans approved by the City of Cape Town (2014-2025). Approvals indicate planned investment, not completed construction. This data reflects formal building activity only and does not capture informal construction, backyard dwellings, or building work undertaken without a formal plan submission. In areas with high informality, actual construction activity may be substantially higher than these figures suggest. Source: CoCT Building Development Management (DAMS).

Source: DBE EMIS · Q2 2025

FOR COMMUTERS

How connected is Bell Glen?

Private vehicle dominant

Bell Glen has 16 minibus taxi routes. The most common way people get to work is by private vehicle (93%).

Taxi connectivity

Moderate connectivity

16 routes

54th percentile · 16 destinations

Blackheath, Eerste river, Eerste rivier stasie, Firgrove, Khayelitsha, Kramat +10 more

Based on CCT minibus taxi route data. Routes matched by name and spatial proximity (500m). Methodology ›

Commute mode share

Anyone relocating to Bell Glen needs a car. The 93% private vehicle share is a socioeconomic profile signal, not a walkability score – in working-class Cape Town suburbs the same walking rate indicates structural necessity. Here it is lifestyle choice.

Private vehicle

93%

Walking

Minibus taxi

Cape Town transport context: In South African cities, transport mode is a socioeconomic proxy – high private vehicle = affluent, high minibus taxi = working class, high walking = structural necessity not preference. StreetSignal reports modal share rather than a walkability index, which would misrepresent SA urban mobility. Methodology ›

Dominant mode: Private vehicle (93%)
Source: CCT Household Survey 2024

Source: City of Cape Town Open Data · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

What are living conditions in Bell Glen?

Full municipal services

Bell Glen has a service delivery index of 99 out of 100, above the city median of 84.5. 98% of dwellings are formal structures.

Computed from the City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey, Bellville survey group (45 households). Indicative: nearest survey group used.

› Monthly accommodation expenditure (R4,323) is 2.6× the city median of R1,674.› High digital connectivity: 88% of households have home internet access.

Access to basic services

99City median: 85

Piped water: 100.0%
Flush toilet: 97.4%
Weekly refuse: 100.0%
Grid electricity: 100.0%

Housing & tenure – Mixed tenure community

98City median: 68

Formal dwellings: 98.2%
Owner-occupied: 46.2%
Rented: 41.7%

Environmental risk – Moderate risk exposure

13risk index · higher = greater risk · City median: 26

Flooding risk: 2.3%
Fire risk: 0.0%
Violent crime: 6.0%
Non-violent crime: 3.2%

Economic structure – Moderate material pressure

Food spending share: 24.7%; Share of income spent on food
City median: 35.3%
Comfortable, moderate discretionary income · 87th percentile
Hardship dimensions: 0; Areas of material need (out of 8)
Grant income share: 12.0%; of households receiving grants
Monthly savings: R881; Weighted mean per household

Digital inclusion – Fibre-connected suburb

Home fibre: 88.5%; City median: 46.5%
Mobile only: 8.0%
No access: 1.5%

Food security

Adult food insecurity: 2.5%; City median: 18.3%
Child food insecurity: 2.5%; City median: 13.0%
Food insecurity prevalence: 6.9%; City median: 22.3%

Demographics & community

Avg household size: 2.9 people
Avg children per household: 0.6

Asset ownership

Computer access: 67.1%
Fridge ownership: 95.9%
Property ownership: 2.1%
Geyser ownership: 96.2%
Borehole access: 11.2%

Home-based economy

Home-based business: 12.6%; of households operate a home-based business
WFH full-time: 3.6%
WFH part-time: 14.4%

Source: City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey. Survey group: Bellville. Indicative: nearest survey group used.

Source: City of Cape Town household survey · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

How responsive are municipal services in Bell Glen?

Highly responsive

The City of Cape Town resolves service requests in Bell Glen in a median of 1 day, compared to the city-wide median of 1 day. This is based on 1,672 service requests to the City of Cape Town.

Computed from City of Cape Town service request data

Infrastructure problems get fixed fast. The median resolution under one day means Bell Glen residents experience responsive municipal service – a signal of well-maintained infrastructure and efficient complaint routing.

Median days to resolve
City median: 1

53rd

Percentile
across Cape Town

36%

Resolved
same day

Sewerage overflow (17%)Customer reconnection request (9%)Customer : Reconnection Request (7%)Indigent Application (6%)Leak at meter/stopcock 20mm below (6%)

Service requests logged: 1 672
Requests resolved: 81% (1 361 of 1 672)
75% resolved within: 4 days
90% resolved within: 13 days
Source: CCT service request database

Community & faith

Places of worship

4 registered

Christian

Places of worship per suburb from City of Cape Town open data, supplemented with OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors). Coverage: 373 of 744 suburbs.

Municipal complaints

Complaints & top issues

Below city average

Complaint rate How is this calculated?: 0.0 per 1,000 households
Total complaints: 1 665
Unresolved: 19.0%

Top issues: Sewerage overflow (279), Customer reconnection request (154), Customer : Reconnection Request (118)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

MUNICIPAL FINANCE

Municipal debt in Bell Glen

68% above city median

Computed from City of Cape Town financial data

Municipal debt in Bell Glen averages R14 801 per account, compared to the city median of R8 815.

R14 801

per account

68% above city median

Trend:Mar 2026: R14 780Apr 2026: R14 801May 2026: R15 008

Breakdown as of May 2026

Property rates: R905 608
Electricity: R0
Water: R4 920 867
Refuse: R1 372 111
Sewerage: R2 073 925
City-wide cleaning: R17 333
Improvement district: R0

Outstanding municipal arrears from City of Cape Town financial records. Coverage: 741 suburbs. Per-account figures available for 582 suburbs.

FOR FAMILIES

What services are near Bell Glen?

Some services nearby

Healthcare access

4 within 5km

Nearest public: Macassar Clinic · Clinic · 1 km
Nearest private: Mediclinic Strand · Private Hospital · 9.9 km
Public facilities: 4
Private facilities: 0

This suburb has public healthcare access but no private facilities within 5 km.

The nearest fire station to Bell Glen is Macassar, 1.1 km away. The nearest public pool is Khayelitsha Swimming Pool, 7.3 km away. The nearest clinic is Macassar Clinic, 1.0 km away.

Nearest clinic: Macassar Clinic · 1 km
Nearest library: Macassar · 1.1 km
Nearest park / open space: Carnation Greenbelt · 0.14 km