Based on data published by Statistics South Africa, building activity in the South African market for new private sector-financed housing has not performed particularly well in the first five months of 2015 compared with the same period last year. The planning phase, as reflected by the number of building plans approved by local government institutions, contracted somewhat up to May, whereas the construction phase, i.e. housing reported as being completed, showed some single-digit growth over the same period. There are, however, divergent trends at segment level that influenced the year-on-year growth in both the planning and construction phases.
