JSE-listed construction group Basil Read’s newest residential development in Johannesburg is the latest show of interest for the affordable housing market, which is gaining the attention of government and the private sector.

Savvy property investors and parents of some of South Africa’s top university students are spearheading a mini property boom in one of Cape Town’s most established suburbs, in the wake of a shortage of affordable top-end accommodation in the city’s leafy Southern Suburbs.