Retreat has a safety index of 83 out of 100 (Lower reported crime). This is a relative measure comparing reported crime across Cape Town suburbs, not an absolute safety guarantee. The Steenberg precinct recorded approximately 10,052 crimes in the most recent annual period. Absolute crime volume is near the city average.

Is Retreat affordable?

Retreat sits in the mid-range for Cape Town property values. The median is R1.3M, placing it in the 37th percentile, broadly in line with the city median. Note that these figures are based on the City of Cape Town General Valuation 2022 and reflect municipal valuations, not necessarily current market prices.

Retreat

Safety 83/100 Safer than 82% of Cape Town suburbs (relative) Property 800k-1M Top 63% Schools 9 86% matric pass rate Healthcare 10 facilities more access than most suburbs Council Near avg complaints 2d median resolution Transport Minibus taxi coverage well-connected area

Data current as of March 2026

The neighbourhood

What's it like to live here?

Retreat is a neighbourhood in False Bay, Cape Town, where property values are moderate by Cape Town standards. 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. Policing falls under the Steenberg SAPS precinct.

How is the area changing?

In Retreat, crime is rising based on the most recent quarterly comparison. Property values have grown above inflation between valuation rolls.

What should buyers know?

Retreat is well-served by schools, and matric results sit slightly below the city average. In this area, service complaints are generally resolved within a few days. 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 Retreat safe?

Lower reported crime

Higher crime Moderate Lower crime

29th percentile among 744 suburbs · relative index, not an absolute safety measure

Moderate Absolute crime volume

10 052 reported crimes per year · city median: 10 468

↓ 1.0% vs Q3 2024

Crime is low by Cape Town standards. Contact crime (assault, robbery) dominates the reported crime profile.

Detailed data

Safety index (resident-adjusted) How is this calculated? 83 / 100

Contact crime rate 369,458 per 100k residents

Station population 83 766

Harm rate (per resident) 94/100

Harm volume (absolute) 74/100

Data period Q3 2025/2026 (Oct–Dec 2025)

Source SAPS via DataFirst · CC-BY 4.0

This data reflects crimes reported to SAPS Steenberg precinct, which covers Retreat and surrounding suburbs. Reported crime may differ from actual crime levels. Full methodology

Disagree with this score? Challenge the methodology ›

Source: SAPS via DataFirst · Q3 2025/2026

FOR BUYERS & INVESTORS

What do properties cost in Retreat?

37th percentile

Planned development

23 hectares of land in Retreat are earmarked for new development across 13 parcels, primarily Mixed Use (10ha) and High Density Residential (8ha), and 2 other categories.

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

The median property value in Retreat is R1.3M. Property values have grown by 9.8% per year since 2018.

A 9.8% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the valuation period.

Value band distribution – Retreat properties (GV2022)

2-400k

4-600k

6-800k

800k-1M ◀

1-1.5M

1.5-2M

2-2.5M

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 R1,310,000

Value growth (CAGR 2018–2022) +9.8% per year ↑ Growing

City-wide value percentile 37th percentile

Dominant value band 800k-1M

Source CCT GV 2022 · Open Data Policy 27781

Source: City of Cape Town GV2022

FOR PARENTS

How are schools in Retreat?

9 schools nearby

Retreat has 9 schools within reach. The area matric pass rate is 85.9%, below the city median of 90.0%. Schools include Thomas Wildschutt Junior Primary School.

Adjusted pass rate

85.9%

City median: 90.0%

Schools contributing

103 candidates

Median quintile

Q4-Q5

Thomas Wildschutt Junior Primary School

Public · Grades R–7 · 421 learners · 28.1:1 learner-educator ratio

Favourable class size

Delta Primary School

Public · Grades R–7 · 818 learners · 34.1:1 learner-educator ratio

Lourier Primary School

Public · Grades R–7 · 452 learners · 32.3:1 learner-educator ratio

Square Hill Primary School

Public · Grades R–7 · 1,004 learners · 30.4:1 learner-educator ratio

Quintile 5School fees apply

Thomas Wildschutt Primary School

Public · Grades R–7 · 436 learners · 31.1:1 learner-educator ratio

Crestway Secondary School

Public · Grades 8–12 · 1,136 learners · 29.9:1 learner-educator ratio

Favourable class size

–

Blouvlei Skool

Public · Special needs · 189 learners · 13.5:1 learner-educator ratio

Specialist provision

–

Cafda School Of Skills

Public · Special needs · 351 learners · 18.5:1 learner-educator ratio

Specialist provision

St. Mary'S Rc Primary School(Retreat)

Public · Grades R–7 · 631 learners · 35.1:1 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 Retreat?

Vehicle-led mix

Retreat has 41 minibus taxi routes. The most common way people get to work is by private vehicle (33%).

Taxi connectivity

Well connected

41 routes

82nd percentile · 27 destinations

7th & 11th ave,retreat, Athlone (via klip rd, plantation, wetton, lansdowne & jan smuts dr), Athlone (via m5 & klipfontein rd), Athlone (via m5, ottery rd, rosmead, milner & klipfontein), Capricorn,retreat, Constantia - wynberg +21 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 Retreat – consider proximity to work when evaluating.

Private vehicle

33%

Walking

28%

MyCiTi bus

19%

Minibus taxi

15%

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 (33%)

Source CCT Household Survey 2024

Source: City of Cape Town Open Data · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

What are living conditions in Retreat?

Full municipal services

Retreat has a service delivery index of 98.6 out of 100, above the city median of 84.5. 67% of dwellings are formal structures.

Computed from the City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey , Retreat survey group (48 households). direct.

Food takes 44% of household budgets - 1.4× the city median

› Monthly accommodation expenditure (R437) is 0.3× the city median of R1,674.› Social grants reach 50% of households, providing a critical income safety net.

Access to basic services

99 City median: 85

Piped water

94.9%

Flush toilet

99.9%

Weekly refuse

99.9%

Grid electricity

99.9%

Housing & tenure – Mixed tenure community

67 City median: 68

Formal dwellings

67.4%

Owner-occupied

53.1%

Rented

21.1%

Environmental risk – Low risk exposure

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

Flooding risk

0.0%

Fire risk

1.3%

Violent crime

0.0%

Non-violent crime

0.0%

Economic structure – Moderate material pressure

Food spending share

44.3%

Share of income spent on food
City median: 35.3%
Under pressure, limited discretionary income · 33rd percentile

Hardship dimensions

Areas of material need (out of 8)

Grant income share

50.0%

of households receiving grants

Monthly savings

R14

Weighted mean per household

Spending priorities – top priority: Food

Food

60.6%

of households prioritise

Electricity

57.1%

of households prioritise

Petrol/transport

14.3%

of households prioritise

Rent/bond

11.5%

of households prioritise

School fees

4.5%

of households prioritise

Digital inclusion – Mixed-access suburb

Home fibre

59.6%

City median: 46.5%

Mobile only

28.4%

No access

12.0%

Food security

Adult food insecurity

7.0%

City median: 18.3%

Child food insecurity

5.6%

City median: 13.0%

Food insecurity prevalence

5.6%

City median: 22.3%

Demographics & community

Avg household size

3.7 people

Avg children per household

1.1

Asset ownership

Computer access

29.3%

Fridge ownership

89.3%

Property ownership

0.0%

Geyser ownership

47.5%

Borehole access

7.9%

Home-based economy

Home-based business

7.4%

of households operate a home-based business

How Retreat compares

Food insecurity 62% below the city average for adult food insecurity

Material hardship 40% below the city average for material hardship

Income 50% below the city average for median household income

Food spend share 25% above the city average for food expenditure share

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

Energy access

36%

Free basic electricity

5.6%

City median

36% of electricity connections in Retreat 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. 17,876 connections.

Source: City of Cape Town household survey · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

How responsive are municipal services in Retreat?

Responsive

The City of Cape Town resolves service requests in Retreat in a median of 2 days, compared to the city-wide median of 1 day. This is based on 21,460 service requests to the City of Cape Town.

Computed from City of Cape Town service request data

Below-average municipal responsiveness. A 2-day median resolution is slower than the city median – infrastructure complaints take meaningfully longer to resolve.

Median days to resolve
City median: 1

38th

Percentile
across Cape Town

30%

Resolved
same day

Power outage (10%)Suspect Tampering (7%)Street lights out (5%)Sewerage overflow (5%)Single street light out (4%)

Service requests logged 21 460

Requests resolved 72% (15 490 of 21 460)

75% resolved within 6 days

90% resolved within 20 days

Source CCT service request database

Community & faith

Places of worship

28 registered

Christian

Islamic

Registered places of worship per suburb from City of Cape Town open data. Coverage: 299 of 744 suburbs.

Municipal complaints

Complaints & top issues

Near city average

Complaint rate How is this calculated? 2718.1 per 1,000 households

Total complaints 21 383

Unresolved 28.0%

Top issues: No Power (2 098), Suspect Tampering (1 527), SEW: Blocked/Overflow (1 098)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

FOR FAMILIES

What services are near Retreat?

Well served

Healthcare access

10 within 5km

Nearest public D.P. Marais Santa TB Hospital · Provincial Hospital · 1.2 km

Nearest private Melomed Tokai · Private Hospital · 1.6 km

Public facilities 8

Private facilities 2

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

The nearest fire station to Retreat is Lakeside, 3.4 km away. The nearest public pool is Retreat Swimming Pool, 0.4 km away. The nearest clinic is D.P. Marais Santa Tb Hospital, 1.2 km away.

Nearest clinic D.P. Marais Santa Tb Hospital · 1.2 km

Nearest library Retreat · 0.5 km

Nearest park / open space Seventh Ave Pos · 0.18 km