The prime rate has not moved since May 2026 — yet a bond costs more each month and more upfront than it did a year ago. Prime held at 10.50% at the July MPC, but it remains 25 basis points above September 2025, and 2026 fee resets have lifted the upfront bill. Figures as at 9 September 2026.
Held — but higher than a year ago
Prime stands at 10.50% as at 9 September 2026: the repo rate of 7.00% plus the fixed 350 basis-point spread that the banks add on top. It has sat there since the South African Reserve Bank's 29 May 2026 decision, when the Monetary Policy Committee raised the repo rate by 25 basis points — the first increase since May 2023. At the 23 July 2026 MPC the Committee held again, voting four to two; two members preferred a further 25 basis-point increase. A year ago prime was 10.25%, where it had remained unchanged through September 2025. So 'unchanged' describes only the last two meetings: measured over twelve months, the price of a prime-linked bond has gone up.
What a year of 'unchanged' costs in rands
The arithmetic below uses our bond repayment calculator's assumptions — prime plus 0% on a 20-year term — and shows the monthly instalment today against a year ago. These are illustrations of the maths, not quotes: your actual rate depends on your profile and is set by your bank. Figures as at 9 September 2026.
| Bond size | Today (10.50%) | A year ago (10.25%) | Difference / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 000 000 | R9 984 | R9 816 | +R167 |
| R1 500 000 | R14 976 | R14 725 | +R251 |
| R2 000 000 | R19 968 | R19 633 | +R335 |
Read the middle row: on a R1.5 million bond, the drift from 10.25% to 10.50% adds R251 a month — roughly R3 000 across a year — before any change in insurance, levies or municipal charges. Scale the first column and the same 25 basis points add R167 a month per R1 million of bond; on a R2 million bond, R335.
What 23 September could add
The next decision lands at 15:00 SAST on 23 September 2026; our preview of the 23 September decision sets out the arguments on each side. If the Committee moves by 25 basis points, prime rises from 10.50% to 10.75%. Verified to the rand on the same 20-year annuity basis, that would add R168 a month per R1 million — R168 on a R1m bond, R253 on R1.5m and R337 on R2m (roughly R170 per R1m, rounded). The inflation backdrop, as at 9 September 2026: consumer prices rose 4.3% year-on-year in July 2026, the Stats SA print released on 19 August 2026. Yet the July vote was only four to two, which tells you the hold was a decision, not a formality. Nobody outside the MPC knows what September brings — and the figure that governs your budget is the one on your bank's offer, not any forecast.
The upfront side of the story
Then there is the bill you pay before the first instalment. While prime has been on hold since May, the upfront cost stack reset upward in 2026. Conveyancing attorney fees rose roughly 3.5% under the updated Law Society guideline effective 1 July 2026 — the bracket-by-bracket scale is in our conveyancing fee guideline piece — and registration-related lines moved too: the Deeds Office reset its fee schedule on 1 April 2026, as our Deeds Office fees 2026 piece sets out, while SARS confirmed the transfer duty thresholds unchanged for 2026/27. The full stack is added up in the cost stack breakdown, and the bond registration vs transfer costs guide explains which charge applies to which part of the transaction. The result: even in a holding pattern for rates, the cash a buyer must find on registration day is higher than it was twelve months ago. If you are budgeting, ask your conveyancer for a written quote and your bank for a written rate indication — those two documents, not any national average, are the numbers that govern your purchase.
Figures verified as at 9 September 2026: prime 10.50% (repo 7.00% plus a fixed 350bp spread), effective since the 29 May 2026 MPC and held at the 23 July 2026 MPC (4–2); prime at 10.25% through September 2025 per the SARB statement archive; July 2026 CPI of 4.3% y/y released by Stats SA on 19 August 2026. Instalments are illustrations under the bond.co.za calculator's assumptions (prime+0, 20-year annuity), not quotes; the September figures assume a 25 basis-point move that has not happened yet.