What it costs to buy a home in South Africa

Transfer duty is a tax the buyer pays to SARS when a home changes hands. Nothing is due up to R1,210,000. Above that the rate rises in steps: 3%, 6%, 8%, 11%, and 13% on the value above R13,310,000.

On a R3,000,000 home the duty is R107,356. On R5,000,000 it is R327,356, on R15,000,000 it is R1,461,156, and on R25,000,000 it is R2,761,156.

The duty must be paid within 6 months of the purchase. If you buy a new home from a developer registered for VAT, VAT is included in the price and no transfer duty is payable.

The transferring attorney registers the home in your name, and if you have a home loan, a bond attorney registers the bond. Both charge fees, and the Deeds Office charges its own. These vary with the price and the attorney, so ask for a full cost schedule on the specific home before you sign.

The prime lending rate is 10.75% from 25 September 2026. At that rate, every R1 million borrowed over 20 years costs R10,152 a month. Your bank will price your loan above or below prime depending on your deposit, income and credit record.

Banks’ own calculators cap the repayment at about 30% of gross monthly income before they look at your full expenses. The bond calculator on this site works it through both ways.