Mortgage originators saving South African consumers R30bn annually

Articles about home loans / property in South Africa > Mortgage originators saving South African consumers R30bn annually

The rise in popularity of mortgage originators in the home buying process has now reached a level where they are collectively saving South African consumers R30bn a year in interest charges through lower home financing costs.

This comes from discounts to the prime lending rate originators achieve by shopping around at various banks on behalf of homebuyers to secure the lowest borrowing rates possible says the company that launched bond origination in South Africa in 1999.

There is no charge to homebuyers for originators’ services. Rhys Dyer, chief operating officer of MortgageSA, the originator that has placed over 300 000 people in their homes with over R100bn in mortgages, says that prior to the advent of origination banks offered customers home loan rates of, on average, 0,5% below prime. “Since originators came on the scene, we have driven this average rate concession down to 1,5% below prime, saving consumers on average 1% on their rate concession. “

This 1% saving - based on annual new homeloan values - represents a R30 billion interest savings annually to consumers over the life of their bonds.” Dyer says that in the current cycle of rising interest rates, consumers need to be even more certain they are getting the lowest rate when sourcing a home loan because even a 0,1% lower rate will make a significant difference over the life of a bond. Dyer notes that as early experience of the NCA has shown there is variation in banks’ lending criteria. This means that people declined by one bank are often approved by another.

Authored By: Rodney Hayter, September 25, 2007

Back to Private Sale Property in South Africa Articles