How much home loan can I get on a R30 000 salary in South Africa?

What instalment can a R30 000 salary afford?

South African banks start from about 30% of gross monthly income, so a R30 000 salary begins with a R9 000 instalment ceiling. That ceiling is a starting point, not the answer: the bank then subtracts your existing credit commitments — car finance, personal loans, store accounts, student debt — from it under the National Credit Act's affordability assessment. A buyer with no other debt uses the full R9 000; a buyer paying R3 000 on a car effectively has R6 000 left for the bond.

Everything below assumes the full R9 000 is available — the best-case, no-other-debt scenario. If you carry instalments, work from the remainder instead, or use our home loan affordability calculator to model the deductions directly.

How much home loan does R9 000 a month buy?

A R9 000 instalment supports a home loan of about R 886 500 at the current prime rate of 10.75%, repaid over 20 years. Over that full term the loan also accrues roughly R 1 273 500 in interest — the total cost of the credit, not the price of the home. Prime is the SARB repo rate plus the bank's standard margin; it was last cut effective 25 Sept 2026 (SARB MPC statement, 23 September 2026).

Real offers land on a range around prime. Major banks price between prime -1% and prime + 2% depending on your profile, and the average concession negotiated through originators runs about 0.67% below prime — so the R 886 500 figure is a mid-point estimate, not a quote.

How does the loan term change the bond size on R30 000?

Stretching the term raises the bond your R9 000 can carry, because the same instalment repays more capital over more months. At prime (10.75%), the same R9 000 buys:

What happens to my bond if interest rates move?

Each 1% on your rate moves the instalment on a R 886 500 bond by roughly R560 a month — which is why the rate you are granted matters as much as the bond you are granted. At prime (10.75%) the instalment is about R 9 000. At prime − 1% (9.75%) it drops to about R 8 409; at prime + 1% (11.75%) it rises to about R 9 607.

Two practical points follow. First, variable-rate bonds reprice whenever the SARB's MPC moves the repo rate — the next decision is scheduled for 19 November 2026 — so budget at prime + 1% to absorb a hike. Second, your starting rate is negotiable: applying through multiple banks, or through an originator, is how buyers earn the concession range noted above.

How does a deposit change what you can buy on R30 000?

A deposit does not raise your instalment ceiling — it raises the price of the home that ceiling can cover. The R9 000 instalment finances a bond of about R 886 500. Put down a 10% deposit on the purchase price and the bank finances the remaining 90%, so the same instalment covers a home priced at roughly R 984 999 — about R98 500 more house for the same monthly commitment.

The quieter benefit is pricing: a lower loan-to-value ratio reads as lower risk, and lower-risk applicants receive better rate offers. For how lenders read deposits — including gifted ones — see our home loan deposit guide.

What salary do you need for a specific home loan amount?

Work backwards from the instalment: a R1 million bond at prime over 20 years costs about R 10 152 a month, which needs roughly R 33 841 gross income under the 30% rule. The arithmetic is the same for any target: instalment ÷ 0.3 = salary needed. So a R30 000 salary falls short of a R1 million bond by a small margin — close it with a deposit that shrinks the loan, a slightly longer term, or a co-applicant.

The full salary table from R20 000 to R100 000, including the minimum end of the market, lives in our minimum salary for a home loan guide, and the broader method is covered in how much home loan can I get.

What else do banks check besides your salary?

Your credit record and your existing debt load decide how much of the R9 000 ceiling you actually get to use — and whether you are approved at all. Under the National Credit Act a bank must assess affordability honestly and may not grant reckless credit. In practice that means:

• Credit bureau record. Defaults and judgments push declines; a thin but clean record can still qualify. Building the score first is covered in our credit score guide.
• Existing instalments. Every open account comes off the R9 000 before the bond gets its share.
• Essential living costs. The NCA assessment tests the instalment against your actual expenses, not just the ratio.
• Stability. Permanent employment or consistent self-employed income, typically evidenced over the last three months or more.

Approval is never guaranteed on a salary figure alone — these are the checks each bank runs before it quotes.