Mossel Bay, Kwanonqaba and Hartenbos housing market study

Developed in 2021, the draft Western Cape Inclusionary Housing Policy Framework provides a guide for municipalities to develop local policies which harness inclusionary housing as a mechanism to promote better located affordable housing in towns and cities, in partnership with the private sector. As a first step to determining if inclusionary housing has the potential to be an effective policy tool in the local municipal context, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the residential property market in the municipality. Given that many local governments do not have the means to undertake this detailed analysis themselves, the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP) in partnership with the Department of Human Settlements appointed CAHF to deliver housing market studies for identified urban areas of George, Stellenbosch, Mossel Bay and Drakenstein municipalities.

This report is therefore an analysis of the Mossel Bay, Kwanonqaba and Hartenbos residential property market including; housing supply and demand assessments; and analysis of the affordability gap, and is intended to provide the intelligence needed to ensure an evidence-led understanding of the housing market. The market profile of the Mossel Bay city area is shaped by its w ide base of low-value properties, large numbers of properties in the R600 000 to R1.5 million range, and a dip in supply in the affordable market between R300 000 and R600 000. This is the case despite the income profile of the area which estimates that 54% of households earn R8 000 or less per month.