The rate at which houses are being built is well below the pace needed to meet the demand for houses in the low-income bracket. While aiming to address the housing backlog for poorer households, the government’s annual self-imposed target is only a quarter of the way to being reached. Private industry players recently illustrated the overwhelming need for low-income housing, although the number of new units registered by private-sector developers was only fractionally higher.
Minister in The Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa, gave an update on Friday on the department’s work between April and September last year. The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) oversees multiple sectors that work toward achieving national development outcomes. The Department of Human Settlements set itself an annual target of roughly 63 000 low-income units, with only 17 028 having been delivered in the first two quarters of the current financial year.
An annual target for the completion of serviced stands is set at 62 800, with 12 623 stands delivered for the six-month reporting period. Additionally, 8 014 title deeds were issued against an annual target of 16 000. To increase completion rates, Ramokgopa recommended prioritising bulk infrastructure by municipalities, digitising deeds, improving town planning, and enhancing interdepartmental collaboration.
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Housing affordability was highlighted by a report released in mid-2025, which noted that only one in five households in South Africa had an income over R26 000. A report byLightstone Propertyshowed that 67% of South African households earn less than R13 000 per month, while 80% earn less than R26 000. Lightstone’s report stated that almost 12 million low-income households were competing for just over 2 million registered properties in their price range.
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