South African industry role-players such as Rhys Dyer, CEO of OOBA bond originators, have supporting data to confirm that the Covid-19 pandemic has drastically changed consumer behaviour as well as banking trends, resulting in a surprising boom in the local residential property market over the past twelve months.

Major banks not wanting to forgo market share has translated into higher approval rates as well as offers of attractive interest rates below prime. Local interest rates remain at their lowest level in fifty years.

Aforementioned factors combined resulted in more first-time homebuyers being able to afford to buy property, as it is in some instances now cheaper to buy a property than to let.

The average age of first time buyers of property is 35. The average purchase price of property for first time buyers is R1 117 398.00 for the July – September 2021 period. This is R34 541.00 more in an average weighted purchase price than the same period in 2020.

The old saying that the best time to have bought a property is five years ago, will most certainly be the case five years from now.