Housing in Southern Africa May 2015

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to streamline the process towards home ownership for targeted cus- tomers. Thebe Investment Corporation, a well-known investment company, holds a substantial share in Phindana Housing, the sole shareholder of MDV Developments. “For us it is about em- powering people at grass roots level. This is our approach to the delivery of housing. It also speaks to our agree- ment with the Thebe Investment Corporation, who share our vision which is to improve the lives of South Africans by providing much needed houses at affordable prices.” Much like themarket it serves, MDV Developments has seen some consid- erable growth since its humble begin- nings in 2004. Through its association with Thebe Investment Corporation, it has gone fromstrength to strength. “We have been in a position to ac- quire some excellent projects - pieces of land in various stages of rezoning and servicing, at competitive prices. This in turn has allowed us to deliver units at very affordable prices and that is something that we will con- tinue to do in the coming years.” There is no denying the com- plexities involved in the affordable

Other projects include Duvha Park, Emalahleni in Mpumalanga. The company has completed 700 units and the final 150 are currently under construction. In Kagiso near Krugers- dorp, 30 units are due for completion in the 83 unit project. MDV has already completed 350 units at Lakeside in Vereeniging. “We are also working in Pien- aarsrivier close to Bela-Bela in Lim- popo, where 13 units have still to be completed of the 126 units’ initial phase. In Zamdela, near Sasolburg in the Free State, the first and second phase of 400 affordable housing units was recently launched.” New projects in the pipeline in- clude 1 356 units in Wilfordon Exten- sion 7, Main Reef Road, Roodepoort and work is due to start this year. With price margins in the afford- able sector remaining low and while having to contend with challenges such as the ever-increasing cost of land and installation of municipal services, the MDV Development team are aware of how important the de- livery of a house is to someone who has been waiting for years. Van Vuuren points out that the company has a skilled teamof people

housing sector including it being highly competitive. “All homes are built to the same standard regardless of themarket sector. The same effort, precision and attention to detail go into each and every development.” Van Vuuren says it is, however, not only about the construction of the development but also the service given to buyers. “We have dedicated staff on each project tomake the pur- chase process as smooth as possible. This includes assisting with finance as the company has its own originat- ing office that streamlines finance applications with the various banks and ensures an optimum after-sales service to our clients.” All of this speeds up the process and smooths out hiccups after the purchase. “Our after-sales service is an important part of our offering and includes help with maintenance – explaining what needs to be done to ensure that the property holds its value over time.” Van Vuuren concludes, “There is a lot of emotion involved in this sector because there are not enough houses to go around and the people purchasing are typically using all their resources to buy.” ■

May 2015