In South Africa today, as in many undeveloped or partially developed countries, a concerted effort is urgently needed to enable the country’s poorer people to unlock the value of their homes.

This was said by Lanice Steward, MD of the Cape Town estate agency, Anne Porter Knight Frank, when, as the guest speaker, she addressed the members of the Black Conveyancers' Association at their annual dinner held this year in Cape Town.

"The Peruvian economist, Hernando de Soto, has calculated that the "dead capital" locked up in the property of the world’s poor is at least US $9,3 trillion - a sum that far exceeds all the foreign aid that has been given to the developing world since 1945," said Steward.

The problem facing most of the world's poor, she said, is that they have no proper title to their properties and this, she said, means that they are unable to use their assets as collateral, i.e. they cannot access bank loans to expand their businesses or improve their properties.

In South Africa, said Steward, Stats SA's 2007 Community Survey has estimated that black South Africans own 6,1 million homes.

"These probably have value of R6 or R7 billion, but very few are capable of being used as collateral assets because the owners do not have - and often do not realise the importance of - legitimate title deeds.”

Quoting Lightstone, a Johannesburg based mortgage risk management company, Steward said that according to their figures in 2007 only 36% of all SA property owners with registered deeds are black - but Stats SA has calculated that in that year blacks owned 73% of all homes in Gauteng and 83% in South Africa as a whole.

"Unlocking the wealth in property owned by black South Africans would be one of the best ways to help our people escape from poverty and start climbing the economic ladder," said Steward.

To achieve this, she said, the government must facilitate and simplify the deeds registration process so that registrations can take place with the least possible cost, red tape and delay.

The banks, for their part, need to simplify and free up to access to bonds for homeowners - and a public information campaign similar to the HIV awareness campaign should be launched to make South Africans aware of the enormous benefits that can follow obtaining recognised legal ownership of property.

Speaking as a director of the Western Cape Institute of SA Estate Agents, Steward said she believes estate agents can and must play a role in fostering among poorer people awareness of the value of their properties - and of maintaining and improving them.

Steward said that the building of three million low-cost homes by the state since 1994 deserves commendation and has helped set the stage for a situation in which far more homeowners can benefit from being legally recognised.

For further information contact Lanice Steward on 021 671 9120 or email lanice@anneporter.co.za.