Prime Interest Rate

Prime Interest Rate remains unchanged at 11%

The South African Reserve Bank made a surprising decision today to keep interest rates unchanged. The general expectation was that the SARB would announce a 0.5% cut, but the inflation figures are clearly beginning to worry the Governor, Tito Mboweni.

Interest Rates cut to 11%

Home Loan Interest Rate News: Interest Rates cut to 11% The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) governor, Tito Mboweni, today announced a 1% drop in the repo rate from 8.5% to 7.5%. This is the fifth successive rate cut since Jun 08. The prime interest rate now drops to 11%. We last experienced interest rates [...]

Rates are down, but mortgage defaults keep rising. Why?

We have turned back the clock on interest rates in South Africa. The last time rates were this low was October 2006, yet the number of stressed mortgage bond holders continues to rise. Auction Alliance, SA’s largest auction house, defines a stressed homeowner as someone who is at least two months in arrears on bond [...]

Why are house prices falling?

Property Finance News: Falling house prices are usually a sign that the supply of homes for sale has exceeded demand. In other words, the number of homeowners looking to sell their properties exceeds the number of buyers in the market. The unique thing about the current condition of the South African property market is that, [...]

Now is a near perfect time to buy property

When it comes to investing, the basic rule to making a profit is to Buy-Low and Sell-high. If you were to apply this theory to property, you would be looking to purchase some real bargains right now and sell after at least 3 to 5 years. Early predictions are that property values could shoot up by 50% by 2011. [read more ...]

‘Insure’ your rate so it can’t go up – but can still go down.

InterCap: Capped Interest Rate Bonds from Integer Home Loans Integer Home Loans is South Africa’s latest mortgage leader, the company launched in October 2007 and is rapidly growing its client basis. The company recently launched a very interesting home loan product called, Intercap. Intercap allows homeowners to cap the interest rate on your bond at the current prime rate while also allowing them to benefit if interest rates drop.

Fixed Rate Options From ABSA Home Loans

Fixed Rate Options From ABSA Home Loans In Nov 2007, when it seemed that interest rates had already peaked, ABSA home loans launched a campaign offering homeowners the chance to Fix their Home Loan Interest Rate at 11.75% – 2.25% below prime at the time. It seems the bank was a bit hasty in launching [...]