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SIMON BROWN: I’m chatting now with Bradd Bendall, BetterBond’s International Head of Sales. Bradd, appreciate the early morning. The BetterBond Property Brief July 2025 – a lot of data in here. What stands out for me is the second quarter a little weaker than Q1, but a really good improvement year on year in terms of the home loan industry.
BRADD BENDALL: Morning, Simon. Some really, really good movement in the indicators. All positive and it’s looking good for buyers around the country.
SIMON BROWN: It does show that, it does. And in fact, you’ve got one illustration which goes back to the low rates of 2021. Let’s not compare back to that day just yet. But if we look back against a year ago, it does sort of play into the story that it’s still tough out there, but consumers are in a better space.
They are out there and shopping, and we’re seeing increases in home loan applications and in fact in prices of home loans.
BRADD BENDALL: Absolutely. We’re seeing a growth in applications. We are up 7.4% year on year, significantly outpacing the 2.8% inflation and we are anticipating a rate cut at the end of July.
We’re seeing low deposits, which bodes well for the consumer and certainly improves buyer confidence with improved affordability across the board.
SIMON BROWN: How is the improved affordability? Are banks perhaps getting a little less strict on their lending requirements, or is that almost impossible to tell?
BRADD BENDALL: No, no, not at all. The banks’ lending policies have been consistent for a number of years, but I think what is happening is you are finding consumers’ affordability and credit scoring are improving.
So less debt – although one could argue that the debt ratios in South Africa are still too high.
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BRADD BENDALL: I think certainly for those who are looking to purchase properties the fact that there are lower deposit requirements certainly assists them in terms of affordability – so they have the necessary cash available for the transfer fees, et cetera.
SIMON BROWN: You mentioned the debt there. One of the data points is debt service costs as a percentage of household income. In 2021 it was 6.7%, but of course those were record generationally low prime rates. It had gone to 9.1%. It is slipping down. It’s back at 8.9%. I suppose again moving in the right direction is the important number but still, I would say, a little elevated.
BRADD BENDALL: Certainly. And, one could argue, one of the longest high interest-rate cycles that we’ve experienced in history, so there are lots of questions around why the MPC, the Monetary Policy Committee, is holding the interest rates at such a high level.
Hopefully, as I said, we see a rate cut at the end of July – and that it’s a significant rate cut as opposed to just a 25 basis point rate cut – which will certainly assist once again.
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SIMON BROWN: Yes. We really need bigger rate cuts. There’s no doubt about that. First time homebuyers are active in the market…
BRADD BENDALL: Absolutely. We’ve seen average home prices drop to R1.58 million, and for first-time home buyers real prices have fallen by 8.3%. That’s the lowest since Q1 of 2022.
So it’s moving to a buyer’s market, looking a lot more beneficial for first-time home buyers.
I will throw in a little caveat there. In certain provinces there’s a stock shortage, so that doesn’t play to a buyer’s market. But certainly, in Gauteng, Pretoria, and the Eastern Cape it’s certainly a buyer’s market.
SIMON BROWN: You mentioned stock shortages there. Some of the provinces that popped up seemed weird to me, but is this still a Western Cape market? We always talk around our Western Cape where you get the best returns, et cetera. Is it all about the Western Cape or are there other regions coming to the fore?
BRADD BENDALL: Look, the Western Cape is still performing well, and it has done for some years now. But you mentioned interesting provinces. For example, although it’s not a province, Pretoria’s regional growth has exceeded 27% in home loans. And North West Province is showing an upside potential, with 10% price increases and a 49% spike in platinum prices. So those things play into the buyers’ hands.
Also building activities. KZN is outperforming every single province in South Africa with an increase in completions of 53.6%, while the Eastern Cape fell by 46%, Gauteng dropped by 20%.
By the way, KZN outperformed the Western Cape at 53%, but the Western Cape was at 14.7%. So that gives you an indication of the different dynamics around the country.
SIMON BROWN: And stuff is happening in greater Pretoria, quite patently.
We’ll leave it there. Bradd Bendall, BetterBond’s international head of sales, I appreciate the early morning time.
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