“A unique group of rich South Africans building mansions in the middle of nowhere,” published on 9 September 2026, presents an interesting perspective on how South Africans operating within the informal economy build and preserve wealth.
The article highlights an interesting form of wealth creation in South Africa’s informal economy: rural property. Large homes being built in areas such as Bushbuckridge, Giyani, Mthatha and Venda are not necessarily signs of excessive spending, but can represent long-term savings, retirement planning and generational wealth.
What makes this particularly relevant to the property sector is the gap between physical wealth and formally recognised wealth. Many rural properties may have significant value, yet challenges around title deeds, tenure and formal registration can prevent owners from fully leveraging these assets.
The article also challenges the idea that people in the informal economy do not save. Instead, some are accumulating wealth brick by brick, by building these properties outside traditional financial systems.
Overall, it raises an important question for valuers, financial institutions and policymakers, that is, exactly how much wealth exists in South Africa’s rural property market that is not captured by conventional financial data and are the assets’ values?
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* This article was originally posted on Daily Investor
