Prime Interest Rate History in South Africa

Current Prime Interest Rate = 8.5%

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South African Home Loans Interest Rates, since Jan 4 1999.
Mouse over the graph for more specific details and/or view the table below.


Loading Home Loan Interest Rate Graph


    Prime Interest Rates
    South African Home Loans Interest Rates, since Jan 4 1999.
    25 Mar 10 10.00%   20 Aug 07 13.50%   15 Aug 03 14.50%   16 Aug 99 16.50%
    14 Aug 09 10.50%   11 Jun 07 13.00%   13 Jun 03 15.50%   14 Jul 99 17.50%
    28 May 09 11.00%   11 Dec 06 12.50%   13 Sep 02 17.00%   02 Jul 99 18.00%
    04 May 09 12.00%   13 Oct 06 12.00%   14 Jun 02 16.00%   03 May 99 19.00%
    24 Mar 09 13.00%   03 Aug 06 11.50%   18 Mar 02 15.00%   02 Apr 99 20.00%
    06 Feb 09 14.00%   12 Jun 06 11.00%   16 Jan 02 14.00%   02 Mar 99 21.00%
    12 Dec 08 15.00%   18 Apr 05 10.50%   01 Oct 01 13.00%   02 Feb 99 22.00%
    13 Jun 08 15.50%   16 Aug 04 11.00%   16 Jul 01 13.50%   04 Jan 99 22.75%
    11 Apr 08 15.00%   15 Dec 03 11.50%   18 Jun 01 13.75%      
    07 Dec 07 14.50%   20 Oct 03 12.00%   01 Feb 00 14.50%      
    15 Oct 07 14.00%   15 Sept 03 13.50%   04 Oct 99 15.50%      
    How does the Prime Interest Rate in South Africa affect my bond?:
    For a bond of R1mil over 20yrs, a 1% movement in the prime rate would equate to a R688 change in your monthly bond instalment.

    While, on a bond of R750k over 20yrs, a 1% movement in the prime rate would equate to a R516 change in your monthly bond instalment.

    Fixed Rate vs Variable Rate:
    The interest rate on a fixed rate homeloan does not change. The advantage of this type of mortgage is that you are protected from rate increases and your monthly payments are consistent.

    The disadvantage is that you will not benefit when the prime rate is dropping.

    Fixed rate will usually be slightly higher than the prime rate at the time of your application.

    Repo Rate vs Prime:
    The Repo rate (repurchase rate)is the rate at which the reserve bank lends rands to our local banks.

    This rate is usually 3.5% lower than the current prime rate.

    Jibar Rate vs Prime:
    The Jibar rate (jhb interbank agreed rate), is used by SA HOME LOANS. While, the Prime rate is used by the Major Banks (STD, ABSA, FNB and Nedbank)

39 Comments For This Post

  1. Gino S Says:
    February 20th, 2009 at 10:02 am

    Hi Alan,
    The Prime Interest Rate for all banks (incl Standard Bank) would have been 14.5% on 23rd of November 2000.

    The interest rate was cut to 14.5% on the 1st of Feb 2000 and remained unchanged, until another cut was made on the 18th of June 2001.

  2. greymacpherson Says:
    May 22nd, 2009 at 2:39 pm

    Hey nice graph, its always easier to see whats going on when you have a picture! Lets just hope we don’t have the currency crash out that we had last time rates were aggressively cut.

  3. Gino S Says:
    May 26th, 2009 at 5:58 pm

    Hi Graeme,

    Yeah, inflation is the hidden tax hey. I might be able to finally afford my bond repayments, but inflation may just erode my property investment.

    Thanx for the comment and complement!
    Gino

  4. Veshlin Ganesh Says:
    May 29th, 2009 at 5:57 am

    I registered my bond on the 17 April. The first debit came off this month.

    At the time of registation the rate was 13%, but changed to 12% early in May. I was debited this month based on 13%.

    Can anyone please explain??

  5. Gino S Says:
    May 29th, 2009 at 9:08 am

    Hi Veshlin,
    I would advise that you contact your bank and enquire about your debt order status.

    A similar thing actually happened to my bond repayment. The problem was that we had signed a document that stipulates that the bond installment is to remain unchanged if rates drop, but will be adjusted accordingly only when rates increase.

    The benefit of this was that if rates dropped I would maintain my monthly expense level, and actually pay off my bond faster

  6. Bongani Says:
    June 3rd, 2009 at 10:20 am

    I am busy shopping around to buy a house, I would like to know if it is a good time to buy a house or rather wait now that we are in a economy meltdown .Interest rates have been dropped by 4.5% to stimulate investment in the economy and give bondholder a much needed relieve to afford bond paymnets.

  7. Matthew Patrick Says:
    July 1st, 2009 at 11:26 am

    Hi!

    What was the 3 month JIBAR rate at 31 December 2008?

  8. Justine Adr Says:
    July 16th, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    Good day,

    We’ve just been informed by our letting agent that our rental on our 2 bedroom flat is going up for the second time in a year due to “market related increases” would this be right if the interest rate has dropped by 4% since we’ve moved in.

    Thanks, I look forward to your response.

    Justine.

  9. Gino S Says:
    July 17th, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    @Justine Adr,

    Although interest rates have come down, inflation still remains high and your agent may be factoring this into the rental. I would suggest that you ask them for a more detailed explanation for the increase.

  10. Marius Says:
    August 14th, 2009 at 6:04 am

    What happened to the graph? Would like to see it…. can you supply to me?

  11. Gino S Says:
    August 15th, 2009 at 7:52 am

    Hi Marius,

    To view the interest rate graph you would need to have JavaScript enabled on your web browser.
    If you continue to have trouble please let me know.

  12. Brian C Says:
    August 28th, 2009 at 10:49 am

    Good Day

    I need to calculate the increase of my installment.
    On 07 july ’08 my installment was R6787, my installment jumped up to R7150 odd in aug- according to the table the intrest rate increased from 15% to 15.5% in june. Surely my installment should have stayed R6787?

    Very helpful site
    Thank you

  13. Riette Says:
    October 23rd, 2009 at 1:40 pm

    Does anyone know where I can get older history? Say, the past 20years?

  14. Riette Says:
    October 24th, 2009 at 11:46 pm

    To “Blessing”: A really helpful spreadsheet can be found at http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/arm-calculator.html. This allows you to enter different interest rates over the bond period and thus do projections in the pay-off period of your bond. It also allows you to add additional deposits and see what that does to the period.

    With reagrds to “Fixing” your interest rate. Info received from Standard Bank to consider is:
    1) The rate you will fix at is higher than the current by 1-2%. For e.g. Current rate is 10.5%, so you will only be able to fix at 11.5 – 12.5%.
    2) If you are currently receiving a concession based on a Group Scheme, you will lose this concession. So your interest rate will revert to the current rate + as per pt1.
    3) After your selected period to fix (12/18/24/36) months, you will probably have to re-apply for the group scheme concession.
    4) If you decided to continue fixing your interest rate after your selected period it will be set at whatever the rate is at THAT stage + the premium stated in pt1.
    5) Use the sheet above to calculate whether this will be worth it for your bond(s).

  15. Mike Says:
    October 30th, 2009 at 12:45 pm

    How can I find out what the average prime rate has been over the last 10 years (on a month to month basis)

    Thanks

  16. Gerrit Says:
    November 2nd, 2009 at 9:56 am

    Can anybody help me with a realistic % escalation in a rental agreement?

  17. Karen Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 11:05 am

    SUCH a helpful graph! Great starting point from which to work even further back. And thanks to Riette too!

  18. Gino S Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 1:22 pm

    Thanks for the positive feedback Karen.

  19. Ranj Says:
    April 1st, 2010 at 10:55 am

    Hi, the graph and history of interest rates is great however this is based on prime(Repo rate), can we have this in the JIBAR?

  20. Marius Says:
    May 12th, 2010 at 1:53 pm

    Great Graph…I am about to by a car and have to decide if I want flex rate at 12.8% or fixed rate at 15.8%. It looks like the rate will likely go up before the car is paid off in 6 years…but is it likely to go up with 3% in say a years time? I’m not sure if I should take flexi or fixed…

  21. Wilda Says:
    June 8th, 2010 at 3:12 pm

    Hi, what interest rate can a good client get on his home loan and on vehicle finance?

  22. Gino - Property Loans Says:
    June 8th, 2010 at 3:51 pm

    Hi Wilda. We specialize in bond finance, and currently the banks are offering up to 1% or even 1.5% below prime on a home loan.

  23. Z Matwa Says:
    June 29th, 2010 at 5:08 am

    What is a flexi bond?

  24. Caron Says:
    July 13th, 2010 at 5:50 pm

    Is it possible to get a file of daily prime interest rates from May 1999 to present day?
    Thanks

  25. Tinus de Jager Says:
    August 11th, 2010 at 1:15 pm

    Pse help me with interest rates and the dates of the cuts period March 2009 to date.
    Thanks

  26. frederik Says:
    August 24th, 2010 at 5:45 pm

    Thanks for a great site!
    Will reserve bank make last drop to boost economy?
    The sale of standard bank might pause this.The gold price is hovering low to where it should have been.The rand’s strength was not predicted.Do you think that they will drop the interest rate one more time by 50 points?Property prices did not drop as much as what was feared more than a year ago ,it seems to been more difficult to get your foot in on residential property,is this true?

  27. Nigel Stride Says:
    October 12th, 2010 at 10:39 pm

    I am trying to locate a list that would show me FNB’s base interest rate on home loans since the year 2000. I have found a listing of prime interest rates for this period but am uncertain about the number of points above prime a standard home loan agreement would be pegged.

    your help will be sincerely appreciated.

  28. gina Says:
    October 29th, 2010 at 4:33 pm

    Please I urgently need the prime interest rates for the year 2009.

  29. nomaswazi mokoena Says:
    November 30th, 2010 at 11:17 am

    my gross is R 11,115.34 ,please advise on the how much home loan do i qualify for ,and how much am i going to be paying monthly?at what interest %.

  30. ITInews Editor Says:
    January 13th, 2011 at 3:07 pm

    It is interesting how the interest rate has become another form of social engineering. If we had another currency shock or worsening financial conditions, how much lower could the prime interest rate go?

  31. JACQUES Says:
    February 10th, 2011 at 4:28 pm

    HOW DOES THE PRIME INTEREST RATE AFFECT THE INTEREST RATE ON BANK CREDIT CARDS? CAN THE BANK UNILATERALLY AD A PERSENTAGE TO THE PRIME RATE ie PRIME + 2% WITHOUT AN AGREEMENT?

  32. Sheldon Says:
    March 2nd, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    Hi i purchased a home in 2007 and at the time was advised that it would be feesible to fix the interest rate at 13%.Well now im paying R8000 per month when i could be paying 6K per month.Got the bond with Absa.Any idea or assistance that would help me rectify the error would be appreciated.Thanks Sheldon 0720235672

  33. Loan Says:
    April 4th, 2011 at 11:06 am

    Hi Sheldon – commiserations. A very frustrating situation you’re in. I suspect that the contract will be binding until such a time as you pay off the bond. I’d see if I could raise another bond on the propery / get some bridging finance and then close down the original bond. As interest rates are set to rise, I’d the consider getting into another fixed rate deal, but one that starts at a lower base.

  34. chandre Says:
    August 26th, 2011 at 9:08 pm

    What a GREAT website! I have been struggling for months on 100 different websites to get info and general knowledge on purchasing a home, here I can equip myself not to make mistakes other people are making, and to make well informed discussions. Even if its a R500 that can be saved each month but at the same time paying my bond off effectively ever cent should be valued in theses days! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

  35. niren Says:
    August 29th, 2011 at 9:29 pm

    Hi,

    My current bond repayment is prime less 1.59%. I have enquired from my bank quotes on fixing my rate and the gave my a quote of prime for the next 5 years. Do you think it is wise to fix my rate or should I leave it a prime less 1.59%?

  36. Sharon Says:
    September 9th, 2011 at 1:22 am

    hi
    i am in the process of buying second property the property cost 350 000 and the bank nedbank want to charge me variable prime link interest of 15.6%. does that sound correct my total interest comes to 793 520.13. please help.

  37. Thipe Says:
    June 6th, 2012 at 5:31 am

    I recently applied for a home loan for 150k to buy a bank repossessed ABSA house,I was given a provisional document of approval at an interest rate of 8.5%.When the final documents were drafted the interest rate was changed to 10,25%.As we speak the current prime interest rate is sitting at 9%.when I enquired n ow they got to that figure I never got a straight answer.Can you help.

  38. Sunny Says:
    June 13th, 2012 at 12:05 pm

    Can interest rates be reduced on an existing bond?
    I have an existing bond with a variable interedt rate, so I was wondering whether I could request for the bank to reduce the interest rate?

  39. Christo Says:
    October 30th, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    The graph reminds me of tough times and it soothes me when i see the dip at the end. Damn what troubled times that was “shoe!!”

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