For many people the acquisition of a property is difficult, but there are ways in which one can get to own property without acquiring a mortgage. According to Sethebe Manake, CEO and founder of Vantage Properties, an advisory company specialising on property investment, one needs not to go to the bank to own a piece of property. You can just buy shares on listed property companies which will virtually make you an owner as well. For example buying shares from Turnstar would mean owning Game City, one the largest shopping malls in the country.  Crowd-funding is another way of investing money in property.

Contributors would be paid the principle amount together with a certain interest. It appears as a suitable and alternative form of investments in property as opposed to approaching a lending institution as an individual to acquire funding to finance property acquisition.

About the property market in Africa, Manake said Africa’s young population will drive the demand for real estate and the type of real estate. She said industrialisation will continue across the continent accompanied by growth in the retail sector while infrastructure shortage presents an opportunity for investment.