The Property Pod

‘The sector, in terms of sentiment, I would say has probably hit a low. Even looking at valuations, the discounts to net asset value are at the highest levels we've seen – at 40%-plus. So take out the Covid era or lockdown days, and this sector is probably at its cheapest levels,’ says the independent property boffin.

'International tourist arrivals have already surpassed the 2019 numbers – the pre-Covid numbers – and we're not even into our high season yet’: Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism.

‘What happened during the pandemic – that's where we all came to realise how important [domestic tourism] is in every country,’ says the operations chief of JSE-listed City Lodge Hotels.

The big challenge in the industry ‘at the moment in the country is more the leadership issues, because in anything that is not being led, you get things going into disarray,' says Ramawela, an industry stalwart who has been in the sector for over 25 years.

The founder and CEO of Durban’s largest private-owned and independently-run hotel group speaks about the chain’s growth, its latest R800m mixed-use development in Umhlanga Ridge, prospects for tourism in Surf City post the floods and riots, and why his company doesn’t plan to expand beyond KZN.

The relatively new Minister of Human Settlements is making her mark. She speaks about the housing backlog and what her department is doing to accelerate delivery, increase accountability, create better communities, and empower women.

Bissessor speaks about pushing the boundaries and making her mark in property and the male-dominated development industry in Africa. She also talks about her roles as COO of Gateway Real Estate Africa, and as head of ESG at London-listed Grit Real Estate Income Group.

Succeeding as a woman exec ‘comes with a lot of sacrifice and a lot of hard work’, but the boss of the JSE-listed Reit says it’s rewarding being part of the group developing a new city in Gauteng.

‘I push boundaries … and want to be able to contribute in an industry that revolves around growth and sustainability,’ says the boss of one of SA’s biggest unlisted property groups.

30-year-old Shezi, an estate manager at Cushman & Wakefield | Broll, is making waves in the commercial property industry and was recently named one of the Mail & Guardian's 200 Young South Africans for 2023.

The CEO of Redefine Europe – a subsidiary of JSE-listed Redefine Properties – says the business ‘sees enough opportunity at the moment in Poland’ to keep it busy managing and growing its investments in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) market.

Gavin Kelsey, COO of real estate agency group Just Property, shares insights on why it's important to save for a deposit for a house. This is especially important for first-time home buyers who are likely to find it tougher to get into the property market currently, with the 14-year-high interest rates.

The sector 'underperformed a lot of the peer asset groups within the SA domestic landscape,' says Naeem Tilly of Sesfikile Capital. But he sees the sector stabilising, with 'a lot of the data coming out [showing] that vacancies are falling and rentals are starting to grow'.

Carlos Correia, CEO and founder of Fundamentum Property Group, speaks about why he is pushing ahead with the development of the new mixed-used mini city in Shongweni, west of Durban, despite the riots that rocked the province in 2021.

The Sapoa president and Pareto CEO questions ‘Mickey Mouse' activities he is seeing in SA’s biggest city, shares insight into Pareto’s growth as a black-empowered property group and speaks frankly about dysfunctional local government being the industry’s biggest bugbear.