"Affordable for Who?": SA Man Reacts to R10,500 pm Units Being Built Above Cape Town's Golden Acre

A Mzansi man has called out new residential units being built above the Golden Acre Shopping Centre, questioning who can actually afford the R10,500 monthly price tag with the average Cape Town salary.

The TikTok video, posted on 6 June 2026, has reignited the debate about housing affordability in the Mother City. South Africans did not hold back in the comments.

The development involves 418 brand-new residential units being created from the old office block above the original Golden Acre shopping centre. The building spans over 27 floors and 23,000 square metres, with studios starting at 24 square metres. Units are fully furnished, include Wi-Fi, and the first 100 are set for occupation in October 2026.

Cape Town’s housing numbers tell a different story

The TikTok user known as Kaapie broke down exactly why the word “affordable” does not sit right. He pulled data from Cape Town’s 2021 Human Settlement Strategy document to make his point. According to that document, 54% of Cape Town residents earned under R10,000 a month between 2015 and 2018.

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To qualify for the smallest studio that goes for R10,000 a month, a renter would typically need to earn at least R30,000 a month. Kaapie pointed out that only around 17% of the city’s population earned enough to qualify. That means the units are simply out of reach for most people who actually live in Cape Town.

South Africans flooded the comments, agreeing with his frustration. Many pointed out that the same studio would rent for around R5,500 in Johannesburg. Others questioned how one company keeps landing all the big city development contracts. The general feeling was that these units serve a small slice of the population, not the city as a whole.

Watch the video below:

More articles involving Cape Town's housing crisis

• Briefly News previously reported that residents and activists gathered outside the Good Hope Centre to protest Cape Town’s plans to auction public land.
• A Cape Town resident shared her personal struggles with securing affordable housing, revealing the emotional and urgent challenges she faced.
• A Cape Town resident shared her personal struggle with high rental costs, sparking online interest and conversation.

Source: Briefly News