Residential communities are awesome, and the more you know and understand about them, the more you will appreciate living on one – and the more you can contribute.
So we here at Estate Living are delighted to announce the first ever residential estate expo in South Africa. Hosted by the Association of Residential Communities (ARC), it will bring together residential community stakeholders from golf estates, eco and wildlife estates, retirement villages, equestrian estates, lifestyle estates and sectional title schemes across South Africa.
It’s not just about lifestyle and estate living. It’s also the perfect opportunity to learn about the residential community industry. With R 1 trillion in assets under management and an annual budget of over R 12 billion, the industry comprises around 3000 homeowners’ associations and 56 000 sectional title developments providing a wide range of lifestyles for approximately five million residents.
Not surprisingly, there are numerous challenges and opportunities. “Not only will this event showcase the industry, including many of our member estates and service providers, it will also provide the ideal opportunity for all stakeholders to debate and deliberate the many issues facing us," says ARC president Jeff Gilmour. “For example,” he adds, "not many people understand that a homeowners’ association is a company, and falls under the Companies Act. This presents many challenges to the volunteer directors and trustees who govern these residential estates.” The conference will serve as a forum to discuss these concerns, and is sure to contribute significantly to proactively shaping a sustainable future for the residential community industry in South Africa.
As well as the conference, there will be an expo showcasing a range of the ARC’s member estates and other service providers. There will be a virtual residential estate encompassing all aspects of community living, and showcasing the lifestyle it brings with it.
The event will be actively marketed to the general public through the media, as well as directly to 85 000 estate homeowners. Entrance will be free to the public, and there will be entertainment for all ages.
Diarise it now: the golf day is 27th July, the conference and expo are on the 28th and 29th, and the family fun day on the 30th is an opportunity to decompress. It’s all happening at the beautiful Midstream Estate, north of Johannesburg.
