When compared to single men and even married couples, single females dominated property sales for the last three consecutive years. This is according to a recent report by Lightstone Property based on all property registrations through the National Deeds Office. The average price of homes purchased by single females is around R800,000 which is the highest it’s been in five years.
“It is encouraging to see evidence that women are slowly increasing their earning power and dominating the property market,” says Adrian Goslett, Regional Director and CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa.
But, when looking only at bonded transactions, the picture is slightly different. According to BetterBond, South Africa’s leading bond originator, the split between bonds granted to males versus females in 2019 remained much the same as 2018’s figures at 60% and 40% respectively. Though singles dominated the market, there was also no notable change between how many bonds were granted to marrieds versus singles, at 42% and 49% respectively. The other 9% includes those who are divorced, widowed or are co-habitants.
Other interesting things to note is that the average age of those who were granted bonds in 2019 is 37. The average bond amount grew by 5.9% from R942,000 in 2018 and to R998,000 in 2019. This is, in part, a reflection of annual house price inflation which is somewhere around 1.7% at national level according to Lightstone Property.
The increase in average bond amount might be more accurately explained by the fact that the amount of 100% home loans increased by 34% and accounted for 49% of all bonds granted in 2019.
“Unable to save up enough money within this tight economy to afford both a deposit as well as the transfer duties and registration fees, many buyers are choosing to take out 100% home loans instead. While doing so will allow buyers to enter the property market sooner, this option also means higher monthly instalments and interest charges,” Goslett cautions.
For those who do go this route, Goslett advises that they reinvest any spare cash they might come across over the course of their loan term, whether in the form of a thirteenth cheque, an inheritance or whatever it may be, straight back into their home loan. “This will reduce the amount of interest payable, especially for those who do so during the first ten years of the home loan where most of the repayment goes towards paying off interest,” he concludes.
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