Update: For those who are confused, active rental means any listed property. Some of these properties will be empty and used solely for airbnb purposes while others might be occupied and will see people stay with friends or family during the rental. The fact of the matter is that many experts believe unregualted airbnb rentals are having a negative effect on housing in major cities. Obviously others feel the opposite way. You look at the data and people’s lived experiences and decide for yourself.

If you have ever tried to rent a property in Cape Town as a single person, you’ve probably been reduced to breathing heavily and calculating how many Salticrax you can survive on. And don’t even mention the thought of buying…

Not only are decent properties scarce, the cost of them are through the roof. Activist groups like Reclaim the City are doing a great job at making a noise about the need for affordable housing in the Cape Town CBD and surrounds, especially for people who are on the lower end of the income scale.

But the housing crisis affects everyone. And while Airbnb is a useful thing for earning a few extra bucks, it’s also contributing to the housing crisis.

Siri Veracruz, an urban planner, told Private Property recently that the rise of Airbnb is having a serious impact on rentals.

“At first I thought it was a great idea, but I now realise there are side-effects that we didn’t foresee. Airbnb can be a threat for cities. I think it’s obvious that Airbnb contributes to gentrification. “It drives up real estate prices that are already soaring in Amsterdam. Neighbourhood businesses which create ties between residents are being replaced by businesses which focus only on tourists. Bike rental companies replace local grocery shops, and apartments that are continuously rented out to tourists are lost to people who actually want to live here.”

This is very much a global problem and some countries have introduced legislation to combat this. But Cape Town is a tourist trap and the data from airdna will give you chills.

The number of active rentals (private rooms, shared rooms and entire apartments or houses) have soared from less than 700 in 2013, to over 15 000 in 2017 in Cape Town – the map data includes the surrounding suburbs.

But let’s take a look at some maps, because pictures are worth a thousand words. The red dots are entire apartments / houses listed on AirBnB. The blue dots in the second set are rooms.

Scary, right? And as long as there is no legislation, this is only going to get worse because Cape Town keeps making list after list of “must visit” spots. And, of course, the exchange rate helps too!

The map for people renting out a room is less congested, but still scary if you consider how many students are on the lookout for accommodation.

Foreign property ownership is also a factor. Rich folks who visit Cape Town once a year for a few weeks can buy a nice flat and rent it out to rich tourists like them for the rest of the year. Again – this is a global issue – and is a big struggle in London, but at least London has some sort of social housing.