Real Estate Investor Magazine July/ Aug 2020 July 2020 | Page 9

PROPERTY ADVICE
Q
Developers in Affordable
Housing
Considering the difference in the markets and market
preferences, do you think developers are really listening to
the markets?
A
Fundamentally, developers have to listen to the markets
because that is the founding nature of their business and
if they don’t listen to the market then they will not be able
to sell their units. But the notion of market targeting is
something that we have not been mastering as a nation.
Financiers developers and property investors need to look
closely at the developers that exist especially in small scale
developers in townships and the lowest tier of property
developers that serves different parts of the market and
need different capitals going into them.
KECIA RUST
Founder, Centre for Affordable Housing
Finance (CAHF)
A
I’ve been tracking some of the smaller housing units since
2010/11 and what started out as ‘just a few popping up
from the landscape’ has become a norm. All these buildings
are fully occupied, which then means that developers are
really responding to the demand. And on the question of
race relevance, most of the tenants on these developments
are black - which means developers are most probably
responding to the black market.
ROB MCGAFFIN
Urban Real Estate Research Unit (URERU)
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine JULY/AUGUST 2020 5