How much home loan do I qualify for on R30 000 a month?
About R 886 500 at 10.75% prime — and anywhere from R 780 023 to R 948 850 depending on the rate you are offered. Banks size your bond from the instalment you can carry, not from the salary itself: under the affordability rules of the National Credit Act, the instalment should stay near 30% of your gross monthly income. On R 30 000 gross, that is a R 9 000 maximum instalment. The table below converts that instalment into a bond at the rates actually on the panel; our full home loan on a R30 000 salary guide covers the deposit, existing-debt and term trade-offs behind the numbers.
| Offered rate | Monthly instalment | Bond you can carry |
|---|---|---|
| Prime plus 2% (12.75%) — weakest profile | R 9 000 | R 780 023 |
| Prime (10.75%) — standard reference rate | R 9 000 | R 886 500 |
| Prime minus 0.67% (10.08%) — average negotiated concession | R 9 000 | R 927 521 |
| Prime minus 1% (9.75%) — strongest profile | R 9 000 | R 948 850 |
The spread is worth R 168 826 of buying power — the same salary, the same instalment, purely the rate. That is why it pays to have every bank on the panel compete: the average negotiated concession is currently 0.67% below prime, which lifts the bond to about R 927 521. Stretching to a 25-year term adds a little more room — roughly R 935 461 — but you pay noticeably more interest over the life of the loan. Run your own numbers in the home loan affordability calculator.
How does a car loan or credit card change what I qualify for?
Directly and rationally: every rand of existing monthly debt repayments comes off the R 9 000 first. Banks net your car finance, credit-card minimums and personal loans off the 30% instalment headroom before sizing the bond — so a R 1 500 car instalment leaves R 7 500, which supports about R 738 750 at prime. That is R 147 750 less house for the same salary.
| Existing monthly debt | Instalment headroom | Bond you can carry |
|---|---|---|
| None | R 9 000 | R 886 500 |
| R 1 500 | R 7 500 | R 738 750 |
| R 2 500 | R 6 500 | R 640 250 |
The two numbers that move your answer are the same two Google's AI Overview asks about: your other monthly debt and your deposit. Tell us yours and we'll put a rand figure on your bond below.
What difference does a deposit make on a R30 000 salary?
A deposit does not change the bond you qualify for — the R 9 000 headroom is set by your income and debt. It changes the price of the house that bond covers: save a 10% deposit and the same R 9 000 instalment reaches a ~R 984 999 purchase instead of R 886 500. A bigger deposit also typically earns a better rate, and buyers with deposits are declined far less often. For benchmarks, see our deposit guide.
What do banks check besides your salary?
Three things, and any of them can size the bond down. First, your credit record: the score decides whether you qualify at all and drives the margin over prime you are offered — the panel in our table spans prime minus 1% to prime plus 2%. Second, a full affordability assessment under the NCA: the bank documents your actual living expenses, not just the 30% rule, and discretionary spending counts. Third, the property itself: the bank values it independently and lends against that valuation, not the asking price. None of these checks is a reason not to apply — but gross salary alone is never the whole answer, which is why every figure above is an illustration rather than an offer. Get pre-qualified and you'll know where you actually stand before you shop.
Could the 19 November 2026 MPC decision change this?
Only through the rate column. The SARB's next decision lands 19 November 2026, with repo at 7.25% and prime at 10.75% (effective 25 September 2026) going in. A 25 bp cut would lift the R 9 000 instalment to a bond of about R 901 460 — roughly R 14 961 more buying power. A hold changes nothing: the maths above simply stays true. We model both outcomes in our November MPC preview, and for the full salary-to-bond method see our how much home loan can I get guide.
(Published 14 November 2026. Prime and repo verified against the SARB September 2026 MPC statement; the 30% affordability rule per standard bank practice. Repayment and bond capacity examples: 20-year term at the stated rates — your actual rate may differ.)