Estates for the rich boom

LUXURY: DEVELOPERS FOR THE LIKES OF STEYN CITY SPEND BILLIONS ON INFRASTRUCTURE

Springbok and impala wander through the parkland at Steyn City, a private residential estate four times the size of Monaco. Nearby, a rider cools down her horse after a morning out at an Olympic-sized equestrian arena, while golfers tee off on a Jack Nicklaus-designed course.

The enclave on the outskirts of Johannesburg – replete with a manmade lagoon, biking trails, restaurants and a school, and where homes sell for as much as R50 million – illustrates the efforts of the wealthy to shield themselves from rampant crime and deteriorating infrastructure in the world's most unequal country.

Despite a 20% decline in SA's millionaire population over the past decade, it remains a hub for the continent's high-net-worth individuals, according to the Henley & Partners' Africa Wealth Report.

Meanwhile, government data show that roughly half of the 63-million-strong population lives in poverty, relying on at least one monthly welfare payout.

Housing stock in estates – of varying degrees of luxury – is the fastest-growing segment in the country's residential property market, according to Lightstone.

There are almost 490,000 homes in such developments, a fourfold increase since 2003.