Entry into the sector remains constrained by various barriers, particularly affecting young people and those from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.
Image: Nhlanhla Phillips
For young people to meaningfully benefit from South Africa’s democracy, they must be able to participate in the sectors that generate and sustain wealth.
Enabling youth access is not only about employment, but about ownership, entrepreneurship, and inclusion in value chains, says Shawn Theunissen, founder of Property Point.
He says that when young people can build businesses, create jobs, and contribute to the sector, it signals a more inclusive economy where the benefits of freedom are tangible and shared.
“Access to the real estate sector is critical. Property is one of the most powerful drivers of economic participation and long-term sustainability.”
According to Property Point, which has experience working with over 100 estate agencies across all nine provinces of South Africa, they have a sector-wide view of how transformation is unfolding in practice.
The organisation which empowers entrepreneurs in the property industry says that, from this perspective, the real estate industry is largely ready to include previously disadvantaged individuals.
Most agencies are open to welcoming new entrants who show commitment, drive, and the potential to succeed as sales professionals, it says.
However, it says that the more persistent challenges are structural.
“A range of barriers continues to limit entry into the sector, particularly for youth and previously disadvantaged individuals. As part of our programme design and ongoing industry engagement, Property Point actively analyses these barriers to understand how access can be meaningfully improved.”
The most significant of these is the commission-only remuneration model, says Theunissen.
The founder says that while it offers the possibility of uncapped earnings, it provides no income security, placing substantial financial risk on new entrants.
He adds that this is compounded by upfront costs that candidates must carry themselves, including personal transport, a laptop, data, and the cost of obtaining a Fidelity Fund Certificate. “In some cases, desk and marketing fees also apply.
Without any guaranteed monthly income, these combined requirements create a compounding exclusionary effect, limiting access to those with existing financial resources.
“Our experience shows that, without structured support, these systemic barriers continue to constrain the sector’s transformation potential.
"Through the Real Estate Incubator Programme, Property Point works closely with industry partners to reduce entry risk by creating supported pathways that combine skills development, workplace access, and transitional support, helping ensure that transformation translates from intention into practical, measurable outcomes.”
According to Property Point, the continued lack of transformation, skills development, and access within the real estate sector would reinforce historical inequalities and economic exclusion in South Africa.
When participation in the real estate sector remains concentrated, it undermines broader national goals of inclusivity, shared prosperity, and social cohesion.
The organisation says its experience also highlights a growing generational challenge. “One major real estate brand indicated that the average age of its successful agents is 58 years old-an age that, in many other industries, is just a few years from retirement.
"This points to a widening gap of two to three decades between those who currently dominate the industry and the younger individuals attempting to enter it, many of whom face systemic exclusion.”
This imbalance presents a dual risk, says Theunissen. He says on the one hand, young people and previously disadvantaged individuals are locked out of economic opportunity and asset-building pathways.
On the other hand, he says a wealth of industry knowledge, experience, and professional relationships is at risk of being lost, with too few structured mechanisms for mentorship, skills transfer and succession.
He says that if not addressed urgently, this will result in a significant skills and leadership gap across the sector.
“True freedom is not only political, but economic. It includes the ability to participate meaningfully in the economy, to build wealth, and to shape one’s future. Without deliberate efforts to expand access to skills, opportunities, and ownership - particularly for youth - the real estate sector risks perpetuating exclusion rather than enabling progress.
"Transformation is therefore not optional; it is central to South Africa’s ambition of becoming a truly free nation, where opportunity is shared, skills are transferred, and growth is sustainable across generations.”
The economic emancipation that youth and previously disadvantaged groups are missing out on is substantial and closely linked to how access to the real estate sector currently operates, says Property Point.
The organisation says while the sector has strong potential to generate income, ownership, and long‑term wealth, constrained entry and limited transformation mean that, more than 30 years into democracy, much of this value remains concentrated.
“Estate agencies are generally committed to growth and transformation, yet existing systems are not delivering change at the scale required. A key constraint lies in recruitment. Due to the commission‑only remuneration model, agencies are typically unable to outsource recruitment and must manage it internally.
"In South Africa’s high‑unemployment context, even a small opportunity attracts overwhelming demand, often hundreds of applications for just a few positions.”
Most agencies are said to lack the capacity and systems to assess this volume effectively. Under pressure, recruitment criteria become increasingly exclusionary.
Candidates with strong potential are often filtered out simply because they do not meet one or two traditional requirements.
“Our early findings showed that fewer than 7% of applicants stood a chance of being considered, and of those, less than half were ultimately appointed- excluding close to 95% of aspiring entrants before meaningful assessment.”
The Real Estate Incubator Programme addresses this challenge from both sides, says Theunissen.
He says they continue to present candidates that agencies typically accept, while ensuring the talent pool reflects SA’s racial and gender demographics. “This approach prioritises skill and potential and has resulted in a Black placement rate of 78%.”
At the same time, he says they intentionally screened candidates from the group typically excluded.
“Within the 95% often overlooked, we have identified strong candidates who are already succeeding within agencies. Their performance is reshaping recruitment practices and broadening how talent is assessed and onboarded - driving practical, organic, and systemic transformation.”
The economic cost of continued exclusion is significant, limiting access to income generation, participation across property‑linked value chains, and intergenerational wealth creation, says Property Point.
The organisation says that without intentional, scaled interventions of this nature, the sector will continue to exclude both people and economic value, undermining transformation, long‑term sustainability and inclusive growth.
Failure to address these challenges will constrain the sector’s growth, resilience and relevance, the founder says.
Theunissen says the lack of transformation limits innovation, reduces competitiveness, and restricts the sector’s ability to respond to evolving economic and social demands.
To avoid this, Property Point says SA must prioritise:
It adds that achieving this would take sustained commitment, collaboration, and accountability across the ecosystem.
“Through the Real Estate Incubator Programme, we are creating structured pathways for inclusion through training, mentorship, and access to opportunities. It also invites robust conversations with industry participants, responding to this investment in the industry.
"The objective is to contribute to a sector that is more diverse, competitive and reflective of South Africa’s full potential.”
Delivering the keynote address at the two-day Emerging Property Developers Summit in KwaZulu-Natal last year, Thembi Simelane, the Minister at the National Department of Human Settlements(DHS), said black property practitioners and developers are still underrepresented in various segments of the ecosystem, which is predominantly white.
The minister said there are ample opportunities within the South African property sector value chain, yet this sector remains largely untransformed.
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