Cape Town homeowners receive warning about property valuations
Real estate agents and other professionals in the property market have cautioned Cape Town homeowners about the importance of accurate property valuations.
In this economy, everyone is counting their rands and cents and unnecessarily losing money is not an option.
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Storm MacLennan, head of sales for the southern suburbs at Jawitz Properties, recently spoke about the issues and expenses that property owners in Cape Town could face based on the City of Cape Town's 2025 General Valuation Roll (GV2025).
The GV2025 process will determine municipal property values and ultimately rate bills from July 2026.
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Because of the large amount of properties across the metro, the City rely on a Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) system to assess values.
While these systems tend to increase efficiency, they could still have errors, and property professionals are sharing important information with homeowners.
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MacLennan stressed that homeowners need to double-check the latest valuation roll to ensure it accurately reflects their property's value.
If not, owners could risk paying more in taxes and rates.
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If these valuations are not challenged in time, they could remain unchanged until 2029, and from 20 February, there will be a very narrow window for objections, usually within 60 days.
BusinessTech reports that property data shows many homes appear to be overvalued, but most homeowners miss the objection deadline.
The idea behind the valuation process should actually make it more convenient for homeowners, but the problem is that it’s done by a computer and not by a person. Those who don’t object could end up overpaying by hundreds of rands a month.
He stated that human valuers can assess a wide range of factors that directly influence a property’s real market value.
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These include: surroundings, the condition of the exterior, access to the property, surrounding noise, and blocked views from new developments.
Whereas automated valuations rely on limited inputs such as plot size, roof area, the address and zoning, which creates the risk of inaccurate outcomes.
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MacLennan also doesn't believe that the system is designed to deliberately inflate valuations.
I don’t think it’s a revenue-maximising exercise dressed up as automation. I think the goal is to maximise efficiency within the City of Cape Town’s systems, but unfortunately, it’s not taking enough into account to give a real-life, accurate valuation.
People are busy with work and day-to-day life, trying to keep their heads above water, so with only 60 days to access and challenge inflated valuations, the risk of owners missing their chance increases.
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Many agree that Cape Town's ability to deliver strong municipal services does not justify flawed valuations.
People are flocking to Cape Town because of the infrastructure and how well the metro is run. But that doesn’t excuse a flawed valuation service. People still deserve realistic, honest and accurate valuations.
You can learn more about the GV2025 here.
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