Background and history
"We enable a new generation of proud homeowners and build homes for all stages of their lives."
Harold Spies founded Similan in November 2010 because he wanted to contribute to the way that homes are designed, developed and sold in South Africa.
With the aim of creating sustainable residential developments for the emerging middle-class market, Similan has brought a fresh approach to the industry that evolves as they continue to innovate.
Their beautiful, award-winning estates create the opportunity for many South Africans to live in quality homes, not only challenging the accepted norms of affordable housing developments but also providing an effective business model that secures year-on-year growth. Their developments include homes for mid-level essential workers to well-established buyers and people scaling down.
Similan don’t simply develop the estates, but take a holistic view of the entire lifecycle of these properties, from acquiring land, developing and selling homes, to working closely with partners and sister companies, like Staylonger that handles marketing and the management of these properties and their tenants.
This unique, hands-on approach to development management allows Similan to maintain the quality of not only the design and construction but also the experience of each new resident, for every estate they’ve developed thus far, while also extracting value from the total property value chain.
This residential property development and project management company has won awards for its work, including the Housing Project of the Year Award in 2014, and was the first developer in Africa to be awarded, Edge Certification and continues to redefine urban living through innovative design.