The property sector is entering a phase where buyers are more informed, expectations are higher and external constraints from infrastructure to economic pressures are more pronounced.
Image: Chumani Mazwi
Sustained growth in South Africa’s residential property sector over a decade is rare, while sustained market leadership is even more rare.
It does not happen through momentum alone, but instead requires a consistent ability to make the right decisions early on when it comes to location, product and on how to engage with the market; often before those decisions are validated by demand, says Pamela Naidu, director of Sales and Marketing at Devmco Realty.
Reflecting on Devmco Realty’s 10 year anniversary, Naidu weighs in on what it takes to achieve sustained market leadership drawing on her nearly three decades of experience in South Africa’s residential property sector.
She says that having played a central role in driving large-scale development sales and shaping go-to-market strategies within the Sibaya precinct, their insights reflect a deep understanding of how early strategic decisions, developer alignment and disciplined execution translate into long-term growth.
“What becomes evident over a ten-year period is that success in property is rarely defined by a single moment. Rather, it is built through a sequence of decisions that may appear incremental at the time, but collectively shape long-term performance. Our industry often places significant emphasis on timing and launching into favourable market conditions or responding to visible demand.”
The director says while timing can influence short-term outcomes, it is not a reliable foundation for sustained growth.
She says market conditions shift, external pressures emerge and demand evolves in ways that cannot be consistently predicted or controlled.
What proves far more durable over time, is clarity, she adds.
“Clarity on where value is likely to emerge; clarity on what the market will require over time; and clarity on how to position both product and engagement ahead of that demand.”
Naidu says she believes their decision to enter and actively shape the Sibaya precinct reflects this approach.
“In 2016, it wasn’t an established node and there was limited existing development along with no clear precedent to validate the opportunity. However, the underlying fundamentals of its location, accessibility and scale pointed to long-term potential. The opportunity that we saw was not to compete within an existing market, but to participate in shaping a new one. This point is often where the most difficult decisions in property are made.”
According to Devmco Realty, established nodes offer immediate validation, but they also introduce saturation and limit differentiation.
The KZN North Coast luxury properties specialist says emerging precincts require conviction in the absence of certainty, but they provide the opportunity to create structural advantage over time.
That being said, it says positioning is only one part of the equation.
“Sustained performance depends on execution and in residential property, execution is often misunderstood. It is not limited to marketing campaigns or sales activity. It is operational and continuous, defined by consistency in how a business engages with its clients and delivers on its commitments.”
Maintaining a constant presence in the market, ensuring accessibility, providing a reliable, informed client experience over extended periods are not always seen as strategic differentiators, Naidu says. Yet in practice, they are critical to building trust, she adds.
“In the upper end of the residential market, buyers are not simply evaluating a product; they are in fact assessing credibility, continuity and the ability to deliver over time.”
The director says this is particularly relevant in off-plan developments, where the purchase decision is based on a future outcome. She says the transaction does not conclude at the point of sale, but rather unfolds over an extended period.
“Managing that journey requires transparency, accountability and consistent engagement at every stage. This has direct implications for how sales functions are structured. A transactional model is not sufficient in this context.
"A more integrated approach, where sales teams are embedded within the development process and remain accountable throughout the lifecycle of the investment, creates a more stable and credible experience for the client. It also ensures that knowledge is retained, relationships are maintained, and engagement remains consistent.”
Over time, Devmco Realty says this approach creates a distinct advantage through close and continuous engagement with clients generating real-time insight into how expectations are evolving.
It says this reveals what buyers prioritise, where friction occurs and how decision-making is influenced.
“When this insight is actively integrated into the development process, it improves alignment between what is delivered and what the market requires.”
According to the business, this is where the relationship between developer and realty becomes critical. It says when aligned, it allows for more precise decision-making across product design, pricing and positioning. When misaligned, it introduces inefficiencies that are increasingly difficult to correct in a more competitive and transparent market, it adds.
“Over a ten-year period, this alignment compounds. Each development informs the next, each interaction strengthens understanding, and each decision becomes more informed as a result. As our business, Devmco Realty, reflects on a decade in the market, I believe the most valuable outcome is not scale, but accumulated insight,” Devmco Realty says.
“The ability to interpret the market with greater accuracy, to act with conviction where appropriate, and to execute with consistency across changing conditions. That is what has differentiated us to our competitors and seen us achieve impressive sales milestones even with a small but dedicated team.”
According to Naidu, the property sector is entering a phase where buyers are more informed, expectations are higher and external constraints from infrastructure to economic pressures are more pronounced.
In this environment, she says sustained performance will depend on precision rather than volume and on alignment rather than speed. True market leadership will not be determined by those who react most quickly to demand, but by those who understand its direction early and position themselves accordingly, she adds.
“It will be sustained by businesses that maintain discipline in their decision-making, consistency in their execution and clarity in how they engage with both product and market over time. That is ultimately what a decade in the industry reveals. Not a formula for success, but a set of principles that, when applied consistently, allow performance to endure.”
Recently, Prenil Sewmohan, the lead data scientist at Lightstone gave a detailed overview of the trends driving the residential property market, including geography and demographics.
Looking at the market as a whole, he highlighted the importance of differentiating between the total number of properties and the total value of housing.
Out of 7 million residential properties (worth R6.6 trillion), freehold (over 80% of properties) dominated in, but represented 65% of the total value.
Sectional title homes formed 12% of the number, but about 15% of the value, while estates made up 7% of the total number of homes, but represented 20% of the value.
Most of the value in residential property was made up of a smaller number of homes, he added. “For example, only 18% of residential homes are worth R1.5 million or more, but this segment makes up 54% of the total value,” he noted.
About 42% of homes are valued at below R500,000, or 11% of the total value, while 55% are valued at below R700,000, he added.
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