 As a property expert, Simon Bray is a man who knows what kind of space the South Africans are looking for and he's one of our esteemed judges of the design challenge. Judge Simon Bray is a Durban based surfer with a passion for online marketing, a very good thing considering he's the CEO of Private Property, a massive online showcase for sales and rentals across South Africa. Simon, Durban has some amazing weather. You're permanently in amazing weather in your office. Big number. What's hot in the South African real estate currently? South African real estate has actually gone through a bit of a slow period over the last ten years. Sales have been slow, certainly a release of new developments has been slow but in the last three or four years we've seen a great acceleration of markets outside of traditional city boundaries. So last year's winter home we were in Stain City in Fourways area, Dane Fern, that is really exploding. You've got developments coming out of the ground wherever you look. So that's a growth market, that's really, really hot right now. Centurion just outside of Pretoria, same story. A lot of excitement, a lot of estates coming out, a lot of apartment blocks and complexes and Mshlunga, our hometown where we've got our offices. Also a great growth market, a lot of opportunity and so that's what's driving property in South Africa right now. Josh Glok lost his grand prize winner, immediately went into renting out his space. Is it a good time to be renting or purchasing? The truth is most of the millionaires in the world have been created in property. So what Josh is doing is exactly the right idea. Hang on to that property asset, put a tenant into it, get a great rental and make that asset work for you over time. I would certainly suggest that people get into buying property in South Africa, renting it out. Those type of buy-to-let investments are always good and our property market is really growing, both on the capital side and particularly on the rental yield side. We're seeing a lot of growth. So it's a good time to invest. What role does design play in the marketability of the space? You know design, decor, the personality and character that a home has really is what sells it to someone when they walk in. Interestingly last year's apartments, all the design apartments, those were the first to sell when Stain City was opened up for sale. So that's just proof of how much decor, design can drive a property purchase decision. So we're going to see that this year I'm sure. What interior design styles are popping right now in South Africa? No, South Africa is slowly but surely modernizing its idea of property. So the idea of this really big home on a really big piece of land is slowly dying. People are looking for lock up and go lifestyle. They're looking for clean, contemporary spaces, easy to maintain and energy efficient. So there's definitely a trend towards smaller open plan designs that suit modern living. You've got a tough job this year. You're a judge. What are you looking for in our contestants? That's a really interesting show, you know. We've got a number of weeks to go through. We've got a number of different design challenges. The contestants are going to be pushed to come up with new and unique ideas every week. But at the same time I think what's important from marketability of a home is that the entire space hangs together. When someone comes in they don't want to sense that one room is disconnected from the other. They want to sense that it's part of the same overall design concept, the same vision. So my tip to the contestants would be start with a plan, stick to that plan and make sure that the overall design, the overall flow of the house really is one beautiful space. Whether it's your first apartment in the city, a trendy suburban townhouse or that dream family home on a gulf estate, there's a home for everyone on private property.