South Africans are still celebrating following the decision by Jacob Zuma to step down as President of SA, because they believe it will open the doors to a much better economic future for the country as a whole.
And nowhere is this jubilation more evident than in the residential real estate industry, which is set to take off as positive consumer and business sentiment starts to translate into more investment, greater economic growth, increasing employment and more home affordability, says Rudi Botha, CEO of BetterBond, SA’s biggest bond originator.
“In fact, we are already seeing the effects of this new-found confidence in the property market, as reflected in the steadily rising number of bond applications attaining approval since the ANC conference in December when Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as the new President of the organisation and the country began to anticipate Mr. Zuma’s resignation.
“Our statistics* show an average 10.8% growth in the percentage of applications approved from October to December last year, with December ending on a conversion ratio of 62%. That is a remarkable increase from the previous year.
“The lower decline ratios and increase in approval rates show that the confidence of the banks has also improved, and that they are keen to lend to homebuyers who are able to meet their credit, employment and deposit criteria.
Even more encouraging, Botha says, in February month-to-date, BetterBond also recorded a significant increase of 34% in the overall value of bonds granted, compared to February 2017 month-to-date.
Those who apply for their home loans through an experienced and reputable bond originator like BetterBond still have the best chance of approval, because we will guide them through the pre-qualification process to ensure that they do meet the bank’s criteria, and to establish their purchasing capacity so that they don’t waste time looking at homes they will not be able to afford.
“Then once they have made an offer to purchase, we will not only assist them to prepare their applications properly, but also motivate those applications to lenders to ensure that they obtain the best home loan package to suit their individual circumstances and the best available interest rate.”
