Cape Town's Table View pensioners squeezed out as prices and crime both climb

Cape Town's property market has been celebrating a price boom, but the city's pensioners are an unexpected casualty of those rises. In Table View, mature residents who have spent decades in the city say they can no longer afford to live comfortably, and crime is rising at the same time.

According to first-quarter statistics from the South African Police Service, crime in the Table View police precinct is up 5.7% compared with the same period last year. Theft and commercial crime are the two most commonly reported offences, while drug-related crime makes up about 10% of all reported crime in the area. The precinct covers Blouberg, Parklands, Sunningdale, Flamingo Vlei and surrounding suburbs.

Property values have climbed sharply across those suburbs. Across the precinct, the average property sale price is up 25%, crossing R2 million for the first time in the precinct's history.

Older residents are being squeezed from both sides. By the end of 2025, people over 65 made up a little less than one third of sellers and less than one fifth of owners in the area, and they accounted for the smallest share of buyers.

It is a familiar pattern in Cape Town's frenzied property market, where developers drive up prices and lifelong residents are often forced to move out, but Table View differs from other property hotspots in that crime is also increasing.

The community has not abandoned its mature population. Table Bay Mall is the only mall of its size in the city with a dedicated pensioners' day, held every Wednesday, while a Spar in nearby Sandown runs a Tuesday pensioners' day with special discounts. Facebook groups such as the Living Legends Table View Seniors Club also host free and affordable events to keep the suburb's seniors engaged.