Women Shaping the Property Industry
South Africa's property industry is entering a new era of female leadership. Women are stepping into roles across development, sales, sustainability and entrepreneurship. A decade ago, that would have been unthinkable, and the pace of change is accelerating. What was once a subtle shift is now impossible to ignore. Women are entering the property industry and actively shaping its future direction.
A New Generation of Leaders
Across Africa, women are founding and running some of the industry's most dynamic businesses. Dr Taiwo Anjorin is a Lagos-based property developer with two decades of experience, running Casabricks Development, where she has delivered residential and commercial projects including Casaville Estate and The Wellness City. Hanna Atiase founded E. Wells Realty & Consultancy in Accra, one of West Africa's most respected brokerages, helping Ghanaians living abroad buy homes in Ghana, often to retire or invest. In South Africa, Wendy Luhabe founded Women's Investment Portfolio Holdings in 1993, the first women-owned company listed on the JSE, which enabled more than 18,000 women to become first-time investors. She has since chaired boards at Vodacom, Pepkor, and Richemont.
This is part of a continent-wide wave of women defining modern real estate leadership.
Women are founding development companies, running sales and rentals divisions, leading sustainability consultancies, and building data and analytics platforms that are changing how the market itself operates. This diversification of roles is arguably more important than any single statistic: it signals that women's influence in property is structural, not incidental.
Industry voices are seeing the shift firsthand. As Hayley, our Head of Sales & Rentals, puts it: "Last year we celebrated women crossing the threshold into majority ownership. This year, the numbers confirm we are not just part of the market; we are leading it. The message is clear: women are no longer catching up; we are setting the pace."
Sustainability: Where Women Are Already Ahead
If there's one corner of the built environment where women have already achieved real parity, it's green building. Nearly half of the Green Building Council of South Africa's accredited EDGE sustainability experts are now women, making sustainability one of the fastest-advancing spaces for female leadership in property. As South Africa's real estate sector leans further into climate-conscious design and green certification, women are positioned at the centre of that transformation, not on the periphery.
Sustainability is at the top of the checklist for everyone from institutional investors to everyday buyers who want energy-efficient homes. Women are defining the standards that will shape sustainability practices in the property industry for decades.
Global Progress, Local Momentum
South Africa's progress follows the global trend. In the UK, women's representation in FTSE 100 leadership rose from 32.5% in 2021 to 37.1% in 2025. The change is driven by a growing recognition that leadership teams perform better when they draw on the full range of available talent. Property markets worldwide are seeing the same pattern. Firms that have opened senior roles to women outperform their male-led counterparts in client relationships, deal-making, and long-term growth.
This global context is important for South Africa specifically. It shows that the momentum being felt locally isn't an isolated phenomenon, but part of a broader shift in who is stepping up to lead in property, on merit and results. As more South African women move into senior roles in development, sales and sustainability, they're adding to a talent pipeline that's already reshaping the industry elsewhere in the world.
The Buying Power Behind the Rise
Women's growing influence in property isn't confined to leadership roles. Female-linked property ownership in South Africa has surged from 57% last year to 70-71% in 2026, with women-only ownership climbing from 30% in 2014 to nearly 39% today. Women under 40 now drive 42% of bond applications, up from a 36% baseline a decade ago. In township markets like Soweto, Soshanguve and Mitchell's Plain, more than half of all buyers are women in their thirties. This financial confidence is the bedrock fuelling women's rise into leadership. Ownership and influence reinforce each other.
The Takeaway
South Africa's property industry is being reshaped from the inside out by women who are building companies, leading sustainability initiatives, and commanding growing financial power in the market. Leadership representation still has ground to cover in the boardroom, but the trajectory is unmistakable. This Women's Month, the industry isn't waiting for change. Women are already leading it.