SA Affordable Housing January - February 2020 // ISSUE: 80 | Page 27

PROJECT and goodwill among the community and had none of the community forum disruptions that have affected many other construction projects around the country,” he says. THE RENTAL MARKET Corbett believes the South African housing market will evolve towards rental. “People in South Africa are suffering from poor confidence and are not willing to take a long- term view by buying property. That is why we opted to make this a rental-only development – it suits the current market. In addition, the trend internationally is for people to increasingly rent homes rather than buy them: South Africa is behind the curve in this respect. Internationally, rental housing comprises about 30% of the total housing stock compared to just 2% locally. I’m expecting South Africa to follow the global trend,” says Corbett. This particular development does not benefit from any government subsidy, though Century’s next development will – a social housing one in the R1 500 to R3 000/month rental range. Its market is a combination of aspirational people climbing out of RDP, social or gap housing, and families feeling the squeeze economically and downgrading. “Our market is somebody not yet able to afford to live in Fourways, but somebody lifting him/herself out of the subsidy housing range.” Corbett believes that ‘green-affordable’ will become a trend for the future, with the major limitation on more such projects being only the pace of getting town planning approvals. Medium-sized developer Century has, for example, been working on getting town planning authority for its social housing development in Linksfield for nine years. “It is taking significantly longer to get approvals than it did three years ago.” Just as National Treasury has put the brakes on capital expenditure for fear of corruption, town planning authorities similarly are so conscious of corruption that processes have virtually ground to a halt. The demand for such developments in this price range certainly exists, he says. The Parks’ units are being marketed inhouse by Century using primarily online platforms. A lot of the applicants are people downgrading from Fourways where they’re paying R12 000 to R13 000/month to R8 500/month to get more for their money, due to economic pressure, with a high number of civil servants. This saving is augmented by the extras such as free internet, security and other benefits, saving on transport of children to school – “a significant amount of money,” says Corbett. “Most people spend between R900 and R1 800 a month on school transport and aftercare. In our estates, there is just a gate between the housing and the school, and they can walk. There’s also a lifestyle issue related to this as people spend less time sitting in traffic.” Century CEO Mark Corbett on site at The Parks. Readying the clubhouse, one of the communal facilities which includes walking paths, kids’ play parks, braai areas, sports fields, free WiFi in each apartment, and a swimming pool. LIST OF PROFESSIONALS: • Developer: Century Property Developments • Architect: Century Property Developments • Civil Engineers: Century Property Developments • Quantity Surveyor: Century Property Developments • Structural Engineer: Struxit SUPPLIERS: • Plumbing fittings: Waterways A typical block in The Parks. www.saaffordablehousing.co.za JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2020 25