I first discovered Ash’s content on X (formerly Twitter), where her posts consistently stood out for being highly informative about property.
Ash Müller has built a strong reputation by explaining what really matters, from luxury homes and city regeneration to affordable housing and billion-rand developments.
Through Ask Ash, she has turned years of industry experience into one of South Africa’s leading real estate media platforms.
For TJR 100 Creators, I caught up with the property expert to talk about the journey from closing property deals to shaping the national property conversation.
You spent years as a property broker before becoming a content creator and media entrepreneur. At what point did you want to start creating content consistently?
I kind of fell into the media side of things, it was more of a slow build-up of frustration, if I’m honest.
As a principal property broker, over the years I have managed to grow a superb network of listed and private property developers, deal makers, bankers and other property enthusiasts.
At the same time, these individuals formed the foundation of my online audience who supported and engaged with the content I was writing and publishing online. I have been talking about real estate online for close to 15 years.
Making LinkedIn posts 15 years ago was painful as it was nowhere near the powerful platform that it is today. But’s paid off, because I soon realised that there was an information gap.
Nowhere in SA can you go to a single platform and find out all you need to know across the real estate asset classes in order to get the latest information about what is happening.
With my Ask Ash platform, I try to keep niche and focused, completely immersed and zoomed in to real estate news and information so that we can add value.
That’s when I decided to make the leap full force into media.
You’ve covered everything from luxury homes to industrial parks and retail developments. Which type of property story excites you the most, and why?
People assume it’s the mansions with the infinity pools, and don’t get me wrong, those are fun to film and talk about. But for me, it’s always come down to what I personally find fascinating.
I have never gone wrong creating content when I stick true to what I think is interesting.
I am obsessed with exploring all of the asset classes in real estate, whether it’s the mixed-use, regeneration projects, old buildings or forgotten pockets of a city getting a second life.
I have always been a lover of history so taking a deep dive into the story of a site always inspires me.
Property and spaces are so closely connected to people. You’re talking about jobs, about how people move around a city, about whole neighbourhoods changing character. A luxury home is a nice story about one family.
A regeneration project is a story about a whole community. New developments redefine skylines and the future of a city. I love to research and learn about it all.
Many creators chase trends, but property often requires credibility and trust. How important is credibility in your experience?
It’s everything. Property has always been a relationship game and the same goes in the real estate media space.
Property isn’t a lipstick or a gadget you can hype up and move on from, it’s often someone’s biggest financial decision.
You are talking about, selling, looking after or concerning yourself with someone’s assets worth millions of rands – you better talk sense if you want respect when it comes to the responsibility of this.
If ever I get something wrong or I am factually incorrect, I am always open to being corrected and fixing where need be.
I’m not afraid to say when I am wrong and take corrective action where need be – after all, it’s all about intention. And you must ask yourself what is in the best interest of the reader.
Trust takes years to build and about five minutes to lose, so I treat it like the most valuable thing I own.
What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned from interviewing developers, agents, architects, and homeowners over the years?
That the numbers only tell half the story. I can talk about yield, price per square metre, and rental returns all day, but the real insight almost always comes out when someone starts talking about why they built or bought a place.
The architect who fought for one extra window because of how the light falls in winter. The homeowner who overpaid because the garden reminded them of their childhood home. In the residential space, property is emotional first and financial second.
And when it comes to commercial development, there is always a fascinating back story to how a site was acquired and how the development came to be. I love those stories because it’s real life.
The maverick deal makers, how the transactions actually came to be and how some of the most iconic builds were funded and developed.
The biggest lesson I have learned is that no deal is vanilla, there is always something new to learn.
If someone handed you the keys to any property in South Africa for one weekend, which one would you choose, and what would you do there?
This is a fun one. And a few come to mind. My mind is automatically heading towards the hospitality sector because I believe we are one of the most underrated hospitality destinations in the world. We have such a diverse hospitality offering, there is so much to do and explore.
I wouldn’t mind being locked up in The Four Seasons, Westcliff for a weekend simply to enjoy sleeping in their beds which feel as though they have an infinite thread count!
If I were in the mood for a farming adventure, I would say Babylonstoren is hands down the most magnificent farm in this country. Next level for the soul. There is always a new and exciting experience to take part in there and the details in everything they do is exceptional. They continuously re-invent themselves and offer locals and international guests a farming experience like no other.
What are your thoughts on the shortage of affordable housing, particularly in the Western Cape? Why do you think developers are increasingly focusing on the upper-end property market instead of building more affordable housing?
It comes down to economics layered on top of a very complicated history. Land in and around Cape Town is scarce and expensive, especially anywhere close to jobs and transport, so the numbers on affordable housing often just don’t work for a private developer without serious help from government, whether that’s subsidies, faster approvals, or release of well-located land. But there is also more to it than this.
Add in rising construction costs, and it is very difficult for private developers to make the numbers work. Fixing it needs multiple solutions to happen at once. All three players, government, developers, and financiers, are actually pulling in the same direction, and personally, I do not see us quite there yet.
The City needs to incentivise developers to build the units. At the same time, we need lower transport costs which means we need improved public transport. Individuals are spending 40% of their salary on transport, when they should be spending it on rent. If we had a consistent, reliable and affordable transport network, we would already see a huge improvement.
This is such a complex topic, I have written extensively on it. My answer above is not nearly enough for such an important question.
Where do you see property content going over the next five years, and how do you want Ask Ash to shape that future?
I think we’re moving away from glossy scripted media and towards content that actually educates people, more data, more transparency. Gone are the days of believing everything you read or see, the consumer is now more educated than ever before.
The consumer wants radical transparency.
Video is only going to get more immersive too. Visuals with strong messaging will perform well in this market.
What I want for Ask Ash is to be the trusted translator in the middle of all that, the place people come to when they want the real story behind a real estate asset. I want Ask Ash to show up transparently and consistently.
I want real estate to be made easy, explained simply, more accessible and less intimidating.
If I can make even a few more people feel confident walking into the biggest financial decision of their lives, I’ve done my job.
Quick-fire questions
- Favourite city for architecture?
I love the mix of heritage and contemporary in Cape Town but there are pockets like Sandton with a random funky, fun mix of glossy towers that I also appreciate.
- Dream home: beachfront, bush, or penthouse?
Bush. Getting grounded is something I love to do and don’t do often enough.
- Last podcast you listened to?
I love non-fiction and business related podcasts. A podcast I always turn to when I need to be inspired is Guy Raz – How I Built This.
- One creator whose content you admire?
So many. But I love The School of Hard Knockz. He’s young, ambitious, hangs around a crowd who takes him higher and I love learning from his content.
- What’s one property trend everyone is talking about that you think is overrated?
The obsession with “smart home” gadgets as a selling point. A voice-activated light switch doesn’t fix a bad floor plan or a leaking roof, and I think buyers are slowly waking up to that.
- If you weren’t in property, what career would you be in?
Probably documentary filmmaking. At heart, I am a history lover. It’s really the same job I’m doing now, just pointing at a different subject: finding the real story behind something and telling it transparently.
Who do you want us to feature next? Nominate them here!
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