Abstract:
In line with international trends, South Africa’s post-apartheid government has embarked on a
housing policy that emphasises asset building. Homeownership has become a dominant policy
for assisting the historically disadvantaged Black population. This paper looks at two property
markets in Mangaung, a metropolitan municipality that includes Bloemfontein. We analysed
property activity on 2,545 residential stands in former Black and former White areas in Mangaung
since 1990. Our findings show two distinct markets. The formal property market in former Black
areas shows a low number of transactions, low value and slow turnover. In the former White
areas, a housing investment made between 1990 and 2016 would have yielded an annual return of
14 per cent, but in the former Black areas only 7 per cent. This poor return makes it difficult for
homeowners in former Black areas to use housing for asset building.
