Challenges faced by small real estate entrepreneurs in the Johannesburg Central Business District

The challenges which entrepreneurs in general face have been well documented over the years, however, challenges specific to real estate entrepreneurs have not adequately been identified. In a developing country like South Africa, the impact of entrepreneurs in the growth of the economy and in its transformation objective, cannot be underestimated. The challenges in the real estate sector in which developers provide affordable housing, are of crucial importance to identify as doing so will promote further development which will aid in reducing the high unemployment and poverty rate. These challenges have not yet been adequately identified. The aim of this research paper is to identify them, to rank them in order of importance and to provide in depth analysis as to how they affect real estate entrepreneurs in completing their developments. The focus will be on small medium and micro-enterprise (SMME) developers as entrepreneurs in an urban context, namely in the Johannesburg central business district. The impact of these developments is higher; thus, the challenges experienced by these developers are of significance. Literature on entrepreneurship was reviewed to ascertain the definition of an entrepreneur, their mindsets and what drives them. This was used to define a real estate entrepreneur which in the context of this research paper is someone who purchases land or buildings to develop them into residential housing for the purpose of a return (both social and economic). In the research methodology a phenomenographic approach was used, appropriate for a qualitative research approach, as it sought to identify challenges through the developers’ experiences. The developers selected, all had prior experience in the field. The researcher interviewed them in person. Their responses were recorded, transcribed and evaluated. Seven challenges in order of importance were identified namely: 1) Apartheid 2) Education, Experience, Competencies and Mentorship 3) Land 4) Municipalities 5) Equity 6) Time Delays 7) Professional Team The legacy of apartheid has a negative effect on the real estate development industry as it is largely and experience-based profession of which many previously disadvantaged people were previously denied access to. The result of this is that many highly educated, first time developers enter the market with the support of funders but the lack of experience in development thus making many costly mistakes which could have been avoided had they had the right mentors and experience within the field. This has proven to be difficult to receive as those with the skills and experience are often reluctant to pass it on to those whom they may be unfamiliar with. It was found that SMME entrepreneurs lack the basic competencies to complete developments due to their lack of experience, which they in turn rely heavily on a professional team which is either too costly for the feasibility of the development or has limited experience, due to similar reasons pertaining to apartheid. The concern of gaining access to the best prime land at reasonable prices was great as it was found that this land, mostly government owned, was often sold to established private developers who had access to quick funding due to their track record and experience. This left the less desirable land to SMME developers who would in turn reap lower returns. Challenges related to the inefficient municipalities in the approval of development plans, the lack of access to affordable finance and equity, and the time delays from the approval of financing and building plans to those due to the contractors and professional teams, were identified as the three largest challenges. This is because they have cascading adverse effects on the rising cost of the developments, possibly rendering them unprofitable on completion, if they eventually reach this point. Solutions proposed include intervention by the government, private institutions and experienced mentors to guide first time developers in gaining the required skills to become successful and to pass on to other developers. Such interventions include incubation programs for entrepreneurs with a mentoring aspect from industry veterans who wish to share their networks and experience in paying it forward. Once these entrepreneurs have completed successful developments they would be mandated to become a mentor to other entrepreneurs as a way to continue closing the experiential gap for SMME real estate entrepreneurs