Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Real Estate Investor Magazine - August 2017 | Page 43

INDUSTRIAL
the Sea Point Main Road corridor and the Salt River,
Woodstock and Observatory area.
In a nutshell, more and more people are opting to
sacrifice a bit of suburban space for the convenience of
being able to walk between where they live, work and
play. There’s no doubt South Africans have embraced
the global “live, work, play” culture and for investors
currently seeking projects the mixed-use development
potential is limitless.
Old Dogs, New Tricks
The main protagonists of the “live, work, play” ethos
are Millennials, who were born in the digital age.
Their business approach is often diametrically
opposite to traditional corporate methodology as a
result of growing up “connected” and they collaborate
rather than isolate. They are the “me” and the “now
“generation and they build their companies around
delivering adaptable, instant solutions to clients who
demand immediate results.
It’s predicted that by
2050, more than 1.3 billion
Africans will live in cities.
In 2015, according to the Pew Research Centre,
Millennials surpassed Gen X to become the largest
share of the US workforce. South Africans aged 11
to 31 at the time of the 2011 census comprised some
40% of the population and about half were in their
20s. Instantaneous service delivery requires lean, mean
business machines, which is why so many Millennials
are creating and working in micro start-ups that can
quickly adapt to market changes.
The lucrative property investment opportunity here
is in remodelling B-Grade buildings in