There has been a new provincial housing market study which has found a severe shortage of affordable homes across the Western Cape.
Properties below a purchase price of R900,000 are becoming increasingly scarce.
CapeTalk’s John Maytham spoke to Tertuis Simmers, the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Infrastructure.
What do you regard as affordable?
Simmers said in terms of affordable pricing, it’s units between R600,000 to R900,000. “Which means that the affordable salary bracket that you focus on is in between R22,000 to R28,500.”
He said his department has initiated two studies thus far to determine per municipality what is the level of affordability because each municipality differs.
“So that is the normative figure which we have seen.
“We have also then assessed what is, according to the banking system, the salary bandwidth within which the level of affordability to gain you access to ownership.”
Simmers said the national policy sets it at R22,000. “And it’s been like that for more than a decade. Whereas the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government through my department has always said, look, we concur with FNB’s independent study, which says no, it’s actually up to about R28,500.
“You need to up your quantum definition if you want to actually address the need for affordable housing effectively through policies and through regulations.”
Maytham said effectively, if people earn a little bit under R30,000 a month, the highest price they can afford if they don’t have help is R900,000 and R900,000 houses for sale are incredibly rare.
Tertuis said: “Indeed, that happens in the City of Cape Town, but also in our secondary cities, as we see semigration, you know, so all of this feeds into that.”
He noted though that a one-bedroom flat, entry level into the market, is well over R1.2 million.
“The private sector, which has been driving up, in certain instances, the cost of units that they produce, sadly, that it does then tip the scales and widens the gap of affordability.”
What role does provincial government have to play? “What powers does it have to intervene is perhaps the wrong word, but to be part of the solution to getting more affordable housing into the market,” asked Maytham.
Simmers said what is within the powers of the Western Cape Government and through his department, is together with the Department of Local Government, to look at how they can ease the planning processes and the regulatory time frames.
“How do we utilise state-owned land for public good?”
“But also, how do we ease the regulatory space to start partnering with the private sector, which is what we’ve been embarking on for the last two to three years,” he said.
To listen to the full interview, click the media player above.
Vicky Stark
www.ewn.co.za