The housing market has seen a noticeable shift in the kind of property gaining popularity in the market. Approximately 4 percent of formal residential properties are made up of estates and this is set to increase in the next couple of years.

Due to the rising concerns around security, there may be a bigger diversification to gated properties that will probably be tailored towards affordable properties.

A survey conducted by data analytics group, LightStone shows that there has been a greater demand for estate living in South Africa. Even though the amount of homes built inside estates are comparable to pre-housing boom numbers, new developments in general have declined.

New developments have already sprung up in many locations especially around the Gauteng area. Estate living has become such a significant part of the South African lifestyle and property landscape that it is starting to cater for larger markets. Initially boomed-off areas were seen to be the solution to the demand in property, there have since been some adaptations to cater for the demand and the different kinds of clusters.

From 1996 to 1999 approximately 4500 houses were registered in estates every year. This has gradually increased. From 2000 the annual rate grew by 30 percent per annum. The peak was in 2007 when 28 000 units were built.

In Gauteng, it has become notably evident that the increase in demand for residential estates is no longer exclusively limited to those within the higher income brackets.

A lot of buyers are prepared to pay a high price for safety. Estates usually offer great security systems, electrified fences, armed patrols and gates manned 24/7. Some even have additional attractions such as gyms, walking trails, schools, golf courses, tennis and squash courts and modern buildings for example.