Property – A Family Affair

There aren’t many family-run businesses resilient enough to survive and thrive during the inevitable troughs and peaks, and emerge victorious after 75 years of trading. Wakefields Real Estate has done just that... 

Seventy five years – and four generations – makes it a great reason for Wakefields Real Estate to pop the cork on a special bottle of bubbly. September 3rd 2014 marks the 75th birthday of this Kwazulu-Natal institution, a real estate company which began in 1939 as JH Wakefield and Sons (Pty) Ltd. It was John Howard Wakefield who opened the doors on his one-man band in the heart of town, and during the ensuing war years, operated with only one assistant – his daughter Mollie. In addition, petrol restrictions meant clients couldn’t be driven around to view properties. Against some tough odds, the Wakefields’ name became a household one.

John had two sons, Howard and Colin. Howard joined his dad in 1946 after being demobilised from the Natal Mounted Rifles and the Anti-Tank Regiment. A year later, John died, and Colin, the younger son – who’d served with the Royal Durban Light Infantry - joined his brother in the business.

It’s always entertaining to hear prices from ‘those days’, and when Colin couldn’t find a flat to rent – “rent-controlled flats were allocated to the most-deserving ex-servicemen, for example those with families” - he decided to build his own home in Westville.” There was no municipal water then, and it was either underground tanks or a supply from the Palmiet River. It cost him R8000 in the late ‘40s, and he was heard to comment 32 years later when he was still living there, it was probably worth R80 000. We all know what it would cost today.

A fire destroyed much of the Wakefields’ offices in the then Smith Street, and they moved to Durban Club Place. In 1976, it was time to move out of town – “parking was one of the primary reasons,” recalls Keith Wakefield, who’d joined the family business. They built multi-storied premises in the then Essenwood Road when Musgrave Centre was just a twinkle in the eye of the developers and residents; this large building was the platform from which Wakefields launched its significant expansion campaign. The handful of existing branches – like the Bluff and Westville in the ‘50s – was joined in the 60s by a host of others. Today, there are over 32 wholly owned branches, no franchisees.

In recent years, Keith’s sons, Myles – as CEO – and Haydn – as Marketing Director, manage this Kwazulu-Natal-only residential property business. Keith is chairman of the group. They have a province-wide team of over 400 agents, a number of whom have been with the group for decades, many for their entire careers in property. This loyalty to the brand has contributed significantly to Wakefields’ broader concept of family - the 16 co-directors have a substantial 520 years of combined service, while the branch managers all bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and caring to their roles within the family.  It’s certainly no longer that little one-man venture of 1939, but it’s still a family-first business, doing business with other families. Yes, there have been innumerable changes in the property landscape over 75 years, but ultimately, the residential property market revolves around the same lynchpin: real homes for real people, whether it’s sourcing, selling, creating or investing.

Seventy-five years on September 3rd. That makes Wakefields an integral part of Durban’s, indeed Kwazulu-Natal’s, history. Roll on the century.