Deposit:
Deposit: of the purchase price
Current SA prime rate: 10.25%. Most banks offer prime or prime minus a discount.
Optional. Banks typically approve bond repayments up to 30% of gross monthly income.
| After | Principal repaid | Interest paid | Outstanding balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instalment no | Instalment | Principal repaid | Interest | Outstanding balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Important: The calculation is an estimate and not a formal home loan quotation, affordability assessment or approval decision. Review the bank’s final quotation and credit agreement, including the interest rate, repayment term, initiation fee, insurance requirements and total cost of credit.
To estimate the cost of a home loan in South Africa:
You can change any value to compare a larger deposit, shorter term or different interest rate. There is no need to submit the form.
A home loan calculator is a planning tool that estimates how much a property loan may cost before you submit an application or accept a bank’s offer.
It can help you understand:
The calculator does not assess your eligibility or guarantee approval. South African banks consider income, expenses, existing debt, credit history, the property valuation and other information when assessing a home loan application.
Most home loans are repaid through monthly instalments containing both principal and interest.
For equal monthly repayments, the calculator uses the standard amortisation formula:
M = P × r × (1 + r)n ÷ ((1 + r)n − 1)
Where:
The monthly interest rate is calculated by dividing the annual interest rate by 12.
The number of repayments is calculated as:
Number of repayments = loan term in years × 12
For example, a 20-year home loan has 240 scheduled monthly repayments.
Each repayment is divided between:
At the beginning of the bond term, a larger portion of the monthly repayment normally goes towards interest. As the balance decreases, the interest portion becomes smaller and more of the payment reduces the principal.
The calculator adds together the interest charged in every repayment period.
For a simplified equal-payment calculation, total interest can be expressed as:
Total interest = monthly repayment × number of repayments − home loan amount
For example, suppose:
The estimated total interest would be:
R3,180,525 − R1,350,000 = R1,830,525
This amount is the cost of interest over the selected term. It is not the same as the total amount repaid.
The amount paid above the original home loan may include interest, insurance and additional fees entered into the calculator.
The calculation is:
Total cost above the principal = interest + insurance + fees
The overall repayment amount is:
Total repayment amount = home loan principal + interest + insurance + fees
The results should therefore display these amounts separately:
Separating these figures makes it easier to understand the true cost of the bond.
With equal instalments, the regular bond repayment remains approximately the same if the interest rate does not change.
The proportion allocated to interest and principal changes over time:
This is the standard repayment structure used for most home loan estimates.
With reducing instalments, the principal portion is repaid more evenly while interest is calculated on the decreasing balance.
As a result:
Use the repayment method shown in the bank’s quotation. Choosing a different method can produce a substantially different estimate.
The payment schedule provides a detailed breakdown of the estimated home loan repayments.
For each month, it may show:
The schedule helps you see how slowly the principal may decrease during the first years of a long-term bond. It also shows how much of each repayment goes towards interest.
The interest rate has a significant effect on both the monthly repayment and total interest.
A higher rate means:
A lower rate means:
South African home loan offers are commonly presented as variable rates and may be priced in relation to the prime lending rate. The actual rate offered by a bank depends on the application, deposit, credit profile and other risk factors.
Because a variable rate can change, the monthly repayment calculated today may not remain the same for the entire loan term. Test the calculation at several higher interest rates to see whether the bond would remain affordable if rates increased.
A longer loan term normally reduces the monthly repayment but increases the total interest.
A shorter term usually provides:
A longer term usually provides:
The option with the lowest monthly repayment is therefore not necessarily the least expensive home loan.
A deposit reduces the amount you need to borrow.
For example:
A larger deposit can reduce:
It may also strengthen the application, although approval and pricing remain subject to the bank’s assessment.
Enter the amount financed rather than the full property price unless you use the deposit field to reduce the borrowed amount.
A monthly bond repayment is not the only cost associated with buying and owning property in South Africa.
Depending on the transaction, buyers may also need to budget for:
Do not add transfer and registration costs to the calculator unless they are financed as part of the home loan. Most of these expenses are separate from the monthly bond repayment.
A home loan calculator helps you test the financial consequences of a property purchase before committing to a long-term agreement.
You can use it to:
It is particularly useful before requesting pre-approval because it helps you decide what repayment level you are comfortable with—not only the maximum amount a bank may approve.
Our calculator provides several practical benefits:
The calculation is an estimate and not a formal home loan quotation, affordability assessment or approval decision.
The actual monthly repayment may differ because of:
The calculator also does not determine transfer duty, legal fees, bond registration costs or ongoing property expenses unless those items are entered separately.
Use the figures to plan and compare scenarios. Before accepting a home loan, review the bank’s final quotation and credit agreement, including the interest rate, repayment term, initiation fee, insurance requirements and total cost of credit.