As we approach what is likely to be another steep rate hike for consumers and homeowners, Samuel Seeff, chairman of the Seeff Property Group, warns that another rate hike shock will be dire for the property market and economy.
Seeff said the country is now seeing the effect on the economy of rising inflation, accelerated rate hikes and load shedding, which appears to be increasing in frequency and duration. The impact on a mid-level home is that homeowners now have to pay an additional R1,244 per month on an average loan of R1 million over twenty years, as their repayments increased from R7,753 in November to R8,997 in July.
He added that a significant benefit of the low-interest rate of the past two years has been that it enables significantly more first-time buyers to purchase their own homes with zero-deposit and cost-inclusive home loans.