Show Increased Lender Confidence
February property statistics released by ooba, South Africa’s largest bond originator, show continued growth in residential property prices and increased competition amongst banks to offer home loans.
ooba’s Average Purchase Price has shown a year-on-year price growth of 4.8% to R 1,004,120, while the First-time Buyers’ Purchase Price is showing a year-on-year increase of 5.2% to R 766,129. “The ongoing house price growth trend reflects the positive residential demand and the favourable market conditions that currently prevail,” says Rhys Dyer, ooba CEO.
There are a number of indicators included in ooba’s February statistics that demonstrate banks’ increased appetite for extending credit for home loans. These include:
• Average Deposit is down year-on-year by 8.5% to an average of 14% of purchase price
• Average Approved Bond size of R863,310 is up 6.4% year-on-year
• Successful Bond Approval Rate by One Bank increased by 3.4% year-on-year to 58.0%
• Total Bond Approval Rate is 76.7%, up 0.4% year-on-year
• Average Interest Rate is prime plus 0.37%, a 20 basis points improvement year-on-year
“In February, our successful bank instruction ratio – the conversion of applications to accepted home loan approvals - was the highest on record since April 2008. This is further evidence of the current positive property and lending environment,” says Dyer.
“With one of the highest approval rates in the market, ooba continues to prove that using a bond originator gives you a better chance of getting your home loan approved, in the shortest possible time. As competition amongst lenders increases, it is even more advantageous for home buyers to use a bond originator to get the best deal,” concludes Dyer.
Contact details of our Ooba consultant Kathy Manson c: +27 83 236 3540 f: +27 86 675 1222 e: kathy.manson@ooba.co.za www.ooba.co.za