Who buys here
Lightstone data, reported in July 2026 by Daily Investor and BusinessTech, put foreign buyers at just under half of transactions in Camps Bay and Bakoven, at an average of about R16 to R17 million. The two suburbs were reported together, so there is no separate figure for either.
A small precinct, read carefully
SAPS counts crime by police precinct, not by suburb. The Camps Bay precinct also serves Clifton and Bakoven, so these figures are precinct-wide. For April 2025 to March 2026 it recorded 606 crimes, down 5% on the year before. The newest quarter, April to June 2026, recorded 114 crimes against 111 in the same quarter of 2025. One quarter is only an early sign.
Residential burglary was 49, aggravated robbery 11, and theft from vehicles 92. Theft from vehicles is the largest category shown.
These totals are low beside the other precincts in our owner guides. That is partly a matter of size, and size cuts both ways. A small precinct means each case is a large share of the count, so a rise or fall of ten or twenty cases looks dramatic as a percentage and may mean little. Read the direction over several years, not one figure. For an owner who is away, a count of 49 burglaries is a reason to keep the basics in order, not a forecast for your house.
Houses, flats and the cars outside
A standalone house has nothing shared: you arrange the gate, alarm and keys. A sectional-title flat has a body corporate and shared access control that you do not control alone.
Since theft from vehicles is the largest count, think about the car or cars the home attracts: where a visitor, caretaker or contractor parks, and what is left in a vehicle.
Questions to ask before you leave
The questions below follow from a small precinct with theft from vehicles as its main count. On key custody or reporting, ask us what is possible, and put the same questions to any other provider.
- Ask how a provider tells a real change from one-off noise when counts are small.
- Ask what is done about vehicles left outside while you are away.
- Ask who holds the keys and the remote for the gate, and how they are logged.
- Ask how quickly you are told, and by whom, if something is found wrong.
- Check the provider's PSiRA registration on the PSiRA website.
- Ask your insurer in writing what an unoccupied home requires.
Questions people ask
Which crime is the largest in the Camps Bay precinct?
Theft from vehicles, at 92 for April 2025 to March 2026, against 49 residential burglaries and 11 aggravated robberies.
Why do small precinct counts jump around?
With few cases in total, each one is a large share. A change of a few cases can show as a big percentage move without meaning that anything changed on the ground.
Does the Camps Bay precinct cover Clifton?
Yes. It also serves Clifton and Bakoven, so its figures describe all three together and not one suburb.
Sources
- Daily Investor: The most expensive suburb in South Africa, where two out of every three properties are sold to foreigners (Lightstone data)
- BusinessTech: Wealthy foreigners are taking over one of South Africa's richest seaside villages (Lightstone data)
- Business Day: How foreign buyers snapped up R153bn in Cape Town luxury homes in ten years (individual buyers only, companies and trusts excluded)
- South African Police Service: crime statistics by police precinct
Foreign-buyer figures: Lightstone data reported in July 2026, individual buyers only, companies and trusts excluded.
Own a home here and live abroad?
Tell us about the property and when you are away. We will tell you plainly what we can and cannot do.