Property

Painting a wall helped one company make R381 million and sell 91 homes

Kirsten Minnaar • 3 October 2026

A new residential development, Bryanston Country Estate, saw its marketing campaign draw the attention of thousands of South Africans, including brands such as Spar and Tabasco.

The development was introduced to the public through the Red Wall campaign, which started without identifying Craft Homes as the company behind it.

A prominent wall at the corner of Grosvenor Road and Bryanston Drive was painted red, with cryptic messages added over several weeks.

The campaign encouraged people to guess who was behind the wall, with a R50,000 prize offered through a dedicated website and Facebook page.

The mystery attracted attention in local WhatsApp groups, on social media, and on the radio.

The campaign then took on a life of its own when Spar and Tabasco appeared to claim the wall for themselves.

Craft Homes responded by adjusting the message on the wall to read, “Cute, Tabasco. The real heat is still coming.”

The campaign was a hit, drawing in 6,400 competition entries and attracting 800 people to the official launch.

The campaign also recorded more than 370,000 TikTok views, a reach of more than 252,000 on X and more than 380,000 on Facebook.

The mystery ended with a key-drop event involving five finalists. One of the participants, Richard Bussell, unlocked the winning door and received R50,000.

Craft Homes then revealed itself as the developer behind the campaign. They have since generated R381 million in residential sales, with 91 freestanding homes sold.

The campaign, which cost R1.31 million excluding VAT, received a Silver Award for Best Online Competition by a Corporate at the 2026 WesBank New Generation Social & Digital Media Awards.

Craft Homes CEO Reinier van Loggerenberg said the campaign was developed by the company’s in-house marketing team and was intended to create interest in the development before directly marketing the homes.

At the awards, the team competed alongside brands such as Volkswagen, Dis-Chem, Telkom, Unilever, and Vodacom, as well as agencies like Ogilvy.

Bryanston Country Estate

Bryanston Country Estate forms part of the shift towards sectional title and estate living in Bryanston.

In this suburb, larger properties and former smallholdings have increasingly been subdivided into more compact developments.

Located at the corner of Bryanston Drive and Grosvenor Road, it is positioned for buyers seeking access to Bryanston, Sandton, Fourways, and surrounding schools, shopping centres, healthcare, and leisure facilities.

The estate includes one- and two-bedroom apartments. Ground-floor units have private gardens, while upper-floor apartments have balconies. Third-floor apartments have larger balconies.

The development includes lift access, fibre-ready connectivity, prepaid electricity, metered backup water, and solar as part of its backup infrastructure.

The estate has a clubhouse with a swimming pool, gym, communal braai facilities, and boma areas. Security features include controlled access and other estate security infrastructure.

Craft Homes is also developing three- and four-bedroom freestanding homes, with prices starting at R3.6 million.

These homes feature private gardens, automated double garages, modern kitchens, and covered patios.

The development is looking to attract property investors. Craft Homes said selected upgraded two-bedroom units have projected gross yields of up to 11.50%, with combined rental income of up to R20,000 per month.

Across the broader portfolio, the blended projection indicates gross yields of 10% when combining different investment units.

Net yields are projected at up to 9%, depending on the unit type, with annual rental growth estimated at 10%.