On 20 February 2026, the City of Cape Town (CCT) released its sixth General Valuation roll. The General Valuation 2025 (GV2025) is the 6th iteration since the implementation of the Municipal Property Rates Act 6 of 2004 (MPRA). Having been actively involved in every general valuation cycle since GV2006, Steer & Co have witnessed firsthand the strides the City has made in developing one of the most sophisticated mass appraisal systems in the country. Steer & Co is therefore well positioned to explain how the City values properties, why the methodology is appropriate and what GV2025 means for property owners.
The CAMA Approach: How Mass Appraisal Solves the Scale Challenge
The Cape Town metro is home to nearly one million individual, rateable properties. Due to the sheer scale, it is neither practical nor financially viable to do site-specific appraisals for every property within the required four-year legislative timeframes. To overcome this, the CCT utilises Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) to deliver market-based values across a diverse property portfolio. The City’s CAMA model rests on three pillars: data management, valuation modelling and modelling/performance analysis.
Data input is vital which is why the CAMA process begins with data collection on all properties across the metro. This is followed by an analysis of all available sales transactions, allowing the City's valuers to understand market behaviour within and across different nodes. Statistical models are built to quantify the adjustments that reflect real-world differences in value — factors such as building size, land extent, orientation, security, views, age and condition of improvements. Once calibrated, the model is applied to the entire universe of properties, with municipal valuers constantly reviewing and validating the results.
Critically, CAMA does not simply generate automated values. It applies market analysis systematically, grounded in accepted valuation principles, and requires qualified valuer oversight at every stage. The result is a process that is both scalable and defendable — a major achievement given the complexity of the Cape Town property market.
The Valuation Date: 1 July 2025
A point of frequent misunderstanding by property owners is the distinction between a municipal value and a property's current market value – which are not the same thing. Every property on the GV2025 roll has been valued as at 1 July 2025. This is the statutory date of valuation, meaning a property's municipal value reflects what that property would have sold for on the open market on that specific date. It is therefore incorrect to assume that one's municipal value should be lower than a property's current market value. If a property is worth R4 million on the open market today but was worth R3.5 million as at 1 July 2025, then R3.5 million is the municipal value.
This is not a technicality — it is the fundamental legal and professional standard against which all objections to municipal values are assessed. The basis of municipal values is actual sales data, calibrated to reflect the market as it stood on the date of valuation.
Your Right to Object — and When It Is Warranted
The MPRA provides a formal objection period of just over 60 days following the release of the roll. Objections must be made on the grounds that the municipal value does not accurately reflect the property's market value as at 1 July 2025. For residential properties, such objections must be substantiated with relevant comparable sales evidence (not compared to other municipal values).
The CAMA performs well in homogenous nodes — where properties are broadly similar in size, age, quality, use, and where there is a healthy volume of market transactions to inform the statistical modelling. In such nodes, objections are less likely to succeed.
However, in less homogenous areas — where properties vary significantly in value-adding attributes — the model may not fully capture nuanced differences between properties. Here, the margin for meaningful objections is wider, and a sales-substantiated objection can yield a material reduction in municipal value where the original value overstates the 1 July 2025 market value.
Acknowledging the Complexity — and Giving Credit Where It Is Due
Valuing nearly one million properties within a nationally prescribed timeframe, across one of South Africa's most diverse property markets, to a single date of valuation, is a formidable undertaking. Steer & Co recognises the technical rigour and professional commitment that the CCT Valuations Division brings to this process. GV2025 represents the culmination of years of institutional refinement — from the relatively nascent GV2006 roll to the sophisticated and data-driven system in place today.
Naturally no mass appraisal system is infallible. The City's CAMA model is robust, but it works with data — and data can be limited, incomplete, or insufficient to fully account for the unique characteristics of a property. Where the data results in a municipal value that does not accurately reflect 1 July 2025 market value, the objection process exists for exactly that reason.
Since GV2006, Steer & Co has been at the forefront of the municipal valuation process in Cape Town, assisting property owners across the metro to understand, interrogate and — where warranted — successfully challenge their municipal values. Our team of registered professional valuers brings deep local market knowledge, a thorough understanding of the CAMA methodology, and extensive experience in preparing and presenting evidence-based objections that withstand professional scrutiny.
Property owners who are unhappy about their recent valuations are encouraged to review their GV2025 municipal values carefully and urged to act within the objection period. Time is limited, and the window to seek a formal review will not remain open indefinitely.
