The preliminary findings of an ongoing investigation into the Western Cape’s private property sector showed that the private property sector contributed 9% to the Western Cape economy and accounted for 135 000 jobs in the region.

The draft report revealed that, in 2011, private property management and private construction contributed R604-million and R341-million in provincial taxes, respectively, South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) CEO Neil Gopal said.

The investigation was initiated by Sapoa to determine the risks and impact of the slow development processes in the Western Cape.

The association had tasked development economists UrbanEcon to discover and outline the profile of the the overall current private commercial and industrial property sector in the Western Cape and the risks attached to the development process.

The ongoing “groundbreaking” study, titled the 'Role and Impact of the Commercial Property Sector – Western Cape Province', would also examine the sector’s size and value, as well as the economic costs of inefficient property development processes in the province.

“We want to crunch the numbers and find out now what the sector’s economic value is. Jobs, the contribution to gross domestic product and tax revenue generated are the key indicators we’re looking to understand,” Gopal explained.

Sapoa also wanted to gain insight into the development process – and the time it took – in the province and to unpack the regulatory environment and tracking applications to pinpoint potential or actual delays.

“Sapoa is keenly aware that delays in the development process are a significant cost to developers and investors, and we want to understand the potential for economic risks in that process,” he said.

The association would release the full findings once the report was finalised.