House prices and sales have slumped countrywide, except in parts of the Western Cape, since the 2009 recession, which coincided with the start of Jacob Zuma’s presidency and years of economic and moral decline.
Property developers believe the strong capital appreciation in Hillbrow’s property market will drive the demand for apartments among buyers. This has prompted property developers to erect construction cranes and build new flats in the inner-city suburb for the first time since the 1980s. Present-day Hillbrow is at the forefront of South Africa’s social challenges: There is a high incidence of unemployment, refugee influx, degradation, drug dealing and crime. But this has not discouraged property investors.
These developments are no flash in the pan as savvy developers have been investing consistently in the inner city for several years, refurbishing buildings and establishing neighbourhood improvement districts. Hillbrow’s positioning in the inner city is a developer’s dream. It is abundantly supplied with public transport , making access to northern suburbs easier. This is important, especially in a country such as South Africa, which faces a deeply worrying spatial inequality that sees people spending an inordinate amount of time and money to travel from home to work — a stubborn legacy of apartheid and the 1950 Group Areas Act.
Indluplace owns a portfolio of properties worth more than R4-billion, of which a third comprises residential flats in inner-city areas such as Hillbrow, Berea and suburbs on the eastern edge, such as Bellevue, Yeoville and Troyeville. Indluplace was an early backer of Hillbrow.