South Africa's vast and varied urban and village create new opportunities for housing businesses

Let’s remember that our complex urban spawls with their shopping centres and giant glass-façade office buildings did not come from nowhere. Our cities were built with migrant labour. For more than a century, people moved from towns far afield in search of work and opportunities to be able to sustain themselves and their families. They would typically return home after a few weeks or months with wages and goods and then travel off to work again. Their children and their children after them settled in the country’s largest metropoles such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, as well as in other provinces, in cities such as Bloemfontein and East London.

But now in 2025, more South Africans want to build or buy a home in their village or hometown. They may want to retire there or even spend some of their later working years, away from the busy and densely populated cities. As developers, we should embrace this and not only create housing projects in the large metros. If towns attract more residents, this increased population density will drive infrastructure spending by the state and the private sector.

It is therefore in banks’ and developers’ best interests to help finance the kinds of project where a person builds their own home. I know of many people who are putting their retirement savings into home construction or renovations. These are people who live in the likes of my hometown of Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga.

At the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid sit “physiological needs”, and these include shelter. People need a place to feel safe and warm in. The concept of a home is a personal thing and that’s part of why it becomes a long-term investment. I try to go back to Bushbuckridge as often as I can, to see my family and to help them in whichever ways I can. My parents still stay in Bushbuckridge and are quite old now, but they don’t want to leave. Unfortunately, the medical facilities and care are just not up to scratch there. They would have to move elsewhere if they wanted to live in better retirement facilities. It raises the question: why not create adequate retirement properties in Bushbuckridge and similar towns? This is just one example of a development opportunity that is being missed. If we do not invest in our vast and often underserviced towns, we will lose them and let down future generations.

While many people in rural areas and small towns are trying to own property for the first time or to develop homes for their families, back in our cities, we also face strong housing demand. But many of these people are constrained because they cannot afford to finance a home by themselves.

Notably, interest rates are still frustratingly high even though we are in a cutting cycle. The cost of living has also risen across much of the world, including in South Africa. But home ownership is a long-term commitment, and getting onto the property ladder early tends to stand you in good stead later. If you can own a property early in your life, should you face later financial challenges, at least you will have amassed some wealth that can help you.

But how do we get more young people to own property? We can start with co-ownership. Family members, spouses or friends might own portions of one property. The key is that each person signs the title deed so that they are protected by the rule of law. Then, if young people can gain experience from co-owning their first property, as they get older and accumulate more wealth, they can later buy a second property on their own. They may also buy their friends’ or family members’ portions of the first property.

We also need to teach our young people about the investment value of residential property. Two friends might co-own a property and rent that property out to earn extra income while living elsewhere. And, of course, co-ownership can also be embraced in smaller towns if the owners are backed by the law and have access to professional help when it is needed.

The demand for housing continues unabated in our country, but it’s still a luxury for many people to buy a house. While renting might better suit many, those in the informal sector might struggle to get a foot in the door with a rental application. A prospective tenant may run a spaza shop and struggle to afford formal rentals without payslips from an employer. Situations like this create another opportunity for property professionals. The clever use of living space is a start. Just look at the burgeoning backyard rental sector. You don’t necessarily need to own a large house to be able to convert one room into a rental unit. Some of the humblest homes will allocate a small room for a rental, helping both the landlord and the tenant.

Progressive institutions will find ways of supporting these backyard rental owners, helping them to leverage their properties and establish businesses, and to improve the amenities that they offer in each rental room.

The size and complexity of the formal and informal rental markets in South Africa are undoubtedly assets for financiers, developers and agents.

South Africa’s housing markets are intricate and, as groups try to encourage homeownership, education is critical. It’s common for people in some of our working-class areas to want to buy a German sedan instead of a house. The biggest competitors of home loan providers are car dealerships. But I am confident that better education will lead to better financial decisions. There are already companies, such as Chartwell Housing Finance Solutions, that help vulnerable people improve their credit scores so that they can get home loans. If they take the time and pay off their debts in consistent instalments rather than buying into dubious investment schemes and buying trophy assets like luxury cars, these people can own properties too.

Chartwell, which was founded in 2008, has also specially designed housing options to help improve affordability for South Africans entering housing.

Not only do young people with little knowledge of how to buy and manage their houses need to learn, experienced professionals would also benefit from education and insights into alternative or progressive methods of home ownership and rentals.

I believe that understanding nuance, catering to dynamic needs and respecting people’s customs and backgrounds will go a long way in solving problems and serving an evolving market, whether in urban, rural or semi-urban spaces.

Every person in our country has a right to dignified shelter. Real-estate institutions must help house these people and not miss opportunities across our country as we try to create conditions for the upliftment of our society, which starts with a home.