Is Elsies River affordable?

Elsies River is among the more affordable suburbs in Cape Town. With a median property value of R760K, it falls in the 25th 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 Elsies River?

The median monthly water cost per account in Elsies River is R460, 30% below the city median of R658.

What is the municipal debt in Elsies River?

As of May 2026, the average outstanding municipal debt per account in Elsies River is R23,176, 163% above the city median of R8,815. Figures include all account types, so may overstate household debt in areas with commercial activity.

Elsies River

A suburb with below-average property values and well-connected public transport relative to Cape Town.

Neighbourhood data for Elsies River

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

Property6-800kTop 75%Schools379% matric pass rate Healthcare19 facilitiesmore access than most suburbs CouncilNear avg complaints4d median resolution TransportMinibus taxi coveragewell-connected area

The neighbourhood

What's it like to live here?

Elsies River is a neighbourhood in Cape Flats, 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 is a strong presence of places of worship serving the community. The dominant commuter mode is private vehicle.

How is the area changing?

In Elsies River, crime is rising based on the most recent quarterly comparison. Property value growth has lagged behind inflation between valuation rolls.

What should buyers know?

Elsies River is served by schools within reach, and matric results sit below the city average. In this area, service complaint resolution takes around a week on average. The suburb is well-served by nearby healthcare facilities.

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 Elsies River safe?

Safety index suppressed

Insufficient data. elsies-river makes up a very small share of the Elsies River 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 Elsies River?

25th percentile

Planned development

2 hectares of land in Elsies River are earmarked for new development across 1 parcel, primarily Medium Density Residential (2ha).

Source: CCT District Spatial Development Framework (January 2023). Development areas indicate planning designation, not construction timelines.

The median property value in Elsies River is R760K. Property values have grown by 3.6% per year since 2018.

A 3.6% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the valuation period.

Value band distribution – Elsies River properties (GV2022)

0-200k

2-400k

4-600k

6-800k ◀

800k-1M

1-1.5M

1.5-2M

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: R760,000
Value growth (CAGR 2018–2022): +3.6% per year↑ Growing
City-wide value percentile: 25th percentile
Dominant value band: 6-800k
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 Elsies River?

Computed from City of Cape Town billing data

Water

R460 / month

30% below city median

Electricity

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

Water trend:Dec 2025: R532Jan 2026: R432Feb 2026: R460

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

INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

Development activity in Elsies River

→ Stable

Elsies River had 24 building plans approved in the last three financial years (FY22/23 to FY24/25), averaging 8 per year. Most were renovations and extensions.

3-year approvals: 24
Annual average: 8/yr
Avg project value: R372K

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).

FOR PARENTS

How are schools in Elsies River?

3 schools nearby

Elsies River has 3 schools within reach. The area matric pass rate is 79.4%, below the city median of 90.0%. Schools include Norwood Sentraal Primary School.

Adjusted pass rate: 79.4%; City median: 90.0%
Schools contributing: 2; 389 candidates
Median quintile: Q4; Q4-Q5

Q4
Norwood Sentraal Primary School
Public · Grades R–7 · 521 learners · 26.1:1 learner-educator ratio
Favourable class size
Q4
Elsiesrivier Sekondêr
Public · Grades 8–12 · 1,579 learners · 32.9:1 learner-educator ratio
Q4
Valhalla Sekondêre Skool
Public · Grades 8–12 · 828 learners · 33.1:1 learner-educator ratio

Quintile 5 is the highest government-funding category - fees apply, but these are the best-resourced public schools in South Africa. Rankings set by the WCED against community socioeconomic index. Learner-educator ratio (LER) is from EMIS Q2 2025; under 30:1 is favourable by WCED standards, over 40:1 indicates strained capacity. What quintile means ›

Source: DBE EMIS · Q2 2025

FOR COMMUTERS

How connected is Elsies River?

Vehicle-led mix

Elsies River has 50 minibus taxi routes. The most common way people get to work is by private vehicle (46%).

Taxi connectivity

Well connected

50 routes

86th percentile · 35 destinations

Bishop lavis, Bonteheuwel, Bothasig, Delft, Delft south, Edgemead +29 more

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

Commute mode share

A mixed transport profile. Multiple modes serve Elsies River – consider proximity to work when evaluating.

Private vehicle

46%

Walking

MyCiTi bus

14%

Minibus taxi

32%

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 (46%)
Source: CCT Household Survey 2024

Source: City of Cape Town Open Data · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

What are living conditions in Elsies River?

Partial service delivery

Elsies River has a service delivery index of 95 out of 100, above the city median of 84.5. 74% of dwellings are formal structures.

Computed from the City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey, Elsies River survey group (57 households). direct.

› Monthly accommodation expenditure (R626) is 0.4× the city median of R1,674.

Access to basic services

95City median: 85

Piped water: 93.9%
Flush toilet: 88.3%
Weekly refuse: 100.0%
Grid electricity: 97.3%

Housing & tenure – Mixed tenure community

74City median: 68

Formal dwellings: 74.0%
Owner-occupied: 68.0%
Rented: 15.9%

Environmental risk – Moderate risk exposure

19risk index · higher = greater risk · City median: 26

Flooding risk: 9.4%
Fire risk: 1.8%
Violent crime: 3.0%
Non-violent crime: 4.9%

Economic structure – Moderate material pressure

Food spending share: 42.8%; Share of income spent on food
City median: 35.3%
Under pressure, limited discretionary income · 36th percentile
Hardship dimensions: 1; Areas of material need (out of 8)
Grant income share: 46.0%; of households receiving grants

Digital inclusion – Mixed-access suburb

Home fibre: 43.6%; City median: 46.5%
Mobile only: 34.4%
No access: 18.1%

Food security

Adult food insecurity: 11.3%; City median: 18.3%
Child food insecurity: 11.8%; City median: 13.0%
Food insecurity prevalence: 9.7%; City median: 22.3%

Demographics & community

Avg household size: 3.7 people
Avg children per household: 1.1

Asset ownership

Computer access: 37.5%
Fridge ownership: 89.8%
Property ownership: 0.0%
Geyser ownership: 59.7%
Borehole access: 11.0%

Home-based economy

Home-based business: 4.0%; of households operate a home-based business
WFH full-time: 0.7%

Source: City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey. Survey group: Elsies River. direct.

Energy access

Free basic electricity

5.6%

City median

0% of electricity connections in Elsies River receive free basic electricity under the City's indigent support programme. Free basic electricity is a constitutional entitlement providing a monthly allocation to qualifying households. The proportion reflects the reach of the City's indigent support in this suburb, not a measure of poverty.

Source: CCT prepaid electricity data (2025/11/30 to 2026/01/31). Covers prepaid connections only. Credit-metered households are not included. 448 connections.

Source: City of Cape Town household survey · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

How responsive are municipal services in Elsies River?

Moderate

The City of Cape Town resolves service requests in Elsies River in a median of 4 days, compared to the city-wide median of 1 day. This is based on 10,051 service requests to the City of Cape Town.

Computed from City of Cape Town service request data

Below-average municipal responsiveness. A 4-day median resolution is slower than the city median – infrastructure complaints take meaningfully longer to resolve.

Median days to resolve
City median: 1

3rd

Percentile
across Cape Town

19%

Resolved
same day

Sewerage overflow (9%)Plumbing (9%)Carpentry (7%)Electrical (5%)Street lights out (3%)

Service requests logged: 10 051
Requests resolved: 53% (5 337 of 10 051)
75% resolved within: 13 days
90% resolved within: 32 days
Source: CCT service request database

Community & faith

Places of worship

16 registered

Christian

Islamic

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

Near city average

Complaint rate How is this calculated?: 1997.4 per 1,000 households
Total complaints: 9 787
Unresolved: 47.0%

Top issues: Sewerage overflow (861), Plumbing (829), Carpentry (623)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

MUNICIPAL FINANCE

Municipal debt in Elsies River

163% above city median

Computed from City of Cape Town financial data

Municipal debt in Elsies River averages R23 176 per account, compared to the city median of R8 815.

R23 176

per account

163% above city median

Trend:Mar 2026: R23 163Apr 2026: R23 176May 2026: R23 371

Breakdown as of May 2026

Property rates: R6 365 440
Electricity: R0
Water: R18 196 945
Refuse: R4 468 664
Sewerage: R7 337 332
City-wide cleaning: R89 998
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 Elsies River?

Well served

Healthcare access

19 within 5km

Nearest public: Elsies River Clinic · Community Day Centre · 0.6 km
Nearest private: Netcare N1 City Hospital · Private Hospital · 3.7 km
Public facilities: 16
Private facilities: 3

This suburb has access to both public and private healthcare within 5 km.

The nearest fire station to Elsies River is Epping, 2.6 km away. The nearest public pool is Elsies River Swimming Pool, 0.3 km away. The nearest clinic is Elsies River Clinic, 0.6 km away.

Nearest clinic: Elsies River Clinic · 0.6 km
Nearest library: Elsies River · 0.5 km
Nearest park / open space: Sleepy Hollow Park · 0.44 km