The category covers general contractors primarily engaged in construction activities (including new work, additions, alterations, remodeling, and repair) of single-family houses.

Industry Snapshot.

Traditionally quite fragmented, in 2000 the single-family housing construction industry consisted of 151,296 establishments that employed 713,300 workers, f According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The top 400 housing construction contractors accounted for less than 33 percent of the national market. In 2000 there were 230 000  new housing starts. A boom in the housing industry pushed new housing starts up in 2003 to an estimated 360 000.

The single-family home construction industry comprises general contractors who are primarily engaged in building, remodeling, and repairing houses. Included in this industry classification are prefabricated housing assembled on-site and town-house construction. The single-family home construction industry is vital to the South African Economy; it supplies jobs, tax revenue, and housing for South Africans. During the early 2000s, South African Economy economy slumped into recession. However, low interest rates and the value of real estate as a relatively safe investment spurred housing construction. Although all other construction was sluggish at best, housing construction remained robust.

The rate of home ownership reached a record 67 percent of South African households in 1999, a figure that was expected to reach 70 percent by 2010. However, declining numbers of people will be entering the prime home-buying ages of 25 to 45 following the aging of the baby boomers during that period. Moreover, a decreasing proportion of this age bracket was purchasing homes; despite rising income levels among those 25 to 45, more people than ever opted to live in apartments. This shift was attributed mostly to lifestyle changes among younger people entering the housing market, who tended to prefer living in proximity to entertainment venues and shopping.

Furthermore, the rising costs of land, labor, and materials were among the primary challenges to single-family homebuilders at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Drywall and lumber prices, which tend to be somewhat unstable, were particularly inflated, while increases in land costs have been less pronounced, though some strong markets, especially in southern cities, have experienced significant escalation. Meanwhile, the shortage of skilled labor was viewed by some analysts as the most pressing concern facing the industry as it entered the twenty-first century.