# Prime is unchanged — but a bond costs more than it did a year ago - Canonical URL: https://bond.co.za/news/prime-unchanged-bond-costs-up - Author: Neil B - Published: 2026-09-09 - Last updated: 2026-09-23 Market newsInterest rates Prime has been on hold since May 2026 — yet a bond costs more each month, and more upfront, than it did a year ago. Here is the verified arithmetic on instalments and fees, and what the 23 September MPC could still add. By [Neil B](https://bond.co.za/expert) · Checked against published primary sources · Published 2026-09-09 · Last verified 2026-09-23 prime raterepo ratebond repaymentsSARBMPC ![Illustration of rising steps leading up to a modern South African home](https://bond.co.za/images/news/prime-unchanged-bond-costs-up.svg) ## Key takeaways - 01Prime has held at 10.50% since the 29 May 2026 +25bp hike — the first increase since May 2023 — and was kept there at the 23 July 2026 MPC, by four votes to two. - 02A year ago prime was 10.25%. On a 20-year bond at prime+0, that drift adds R167 a month per R1m — R251 on R1.5m, R335 on R2m (calculator illustration). - 03A +25bp move on 23 September 2026 would lift prime to 10.75% and add R168 a month per R1m (R253 on R1.5m, R337 on R2m), verified to the rand on a 20-year annuity. - 04July 2026 CPI cooled to 4.3% y/y (released 19 August 2026) — and while prime held, upfront costs rose, with conveyancing fees up roughly 3.5% from 1 July 2026. **Update, 23 September 2026:** prime is no longer unchanged — the MPC raised the repo rate 25 basis points to **7.25%**, taking prime to 10.75%. What that means for your instalment: [the September 2026 outcome](https://bond.co.za/news/sarb-september-2026-rate-hike-bond-impact). **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](https://bond.co.za/news/sarb-september-rate-decision-bond-cost) 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](https://bond.co.za/news/conveyancing-fee-guideline-2026) — and registration-related lines moved too: the Deeds Office reset its fee schedule on 1 April 2026, as our [Deeds Office fees 2026 piece](https://bond.co.za/news/deeds-office-fees-2026) sets out, while SARS confirmed the [transfer duty thresholds unchanged for 2026/27](https://bond.co.za/news/transfer-duty-2026-27-thresholds-unchanged). The full stack is added up in the [cost stack breakdown](https://bond.co.za/news/bond-initiation-and-registration-fees-explained), and the [bond registration vs transfer costs guide](https://bond.co.za/guides/bond-registration-vs-transfer-costs-south-africa) 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. Free report ## Free Bond Readiness Report — 2026 cost edition See your affordability range, a realistic rate band, and what a September rate move would mean for your repayment at your bond size — with the 2026 upfront-cost picture alongside it. ### Free Bond Readiness Report — 2026 cost edition Get your affordability range, a realistic rate band and what a September move would mean at your bond size, alongside the 2026 upfront-cost picture — opened as a ready-to-send email request. Estimates, not promised rates or approvals. Free to use. bond.co.za is an independent educational resource — we do not provide credit, origination, legal or conveyancing services. [About our independence](https://bond.co.za/how-we-make-money). Prefer to run the numbers yourself? [Try the bond repayment calculator](https://bond.co.za/bond-calculator) with the same prime+0, 20-year assumptions. ## Sources - [SARB — Statement of the Monetary Policy Committee, July 2026](https://www.resbank.co.za/en/home/publications/publication-detail-pages/statements/monetary-policy-statements/2026/july)Repo 7.00% held 23 July 2026 (4–2); next decision 23 September 2026. - [SARB — Monetary Policy Committee page](https://www.resbank.co.za/en/home/what-we-do/monetary-policy/monetary-policy-committee)MPC calendar: 23 September and 19 November 2026. - [Stats SA — Consumer Price Index, July 2026 (P0141)](https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0141/P0141July2026.pdf)July CPI 4.3% y/y, released 19 August 2026. - [SARB — Monetary policy statements archive](https://www.resbank.co.za/en/home/publications/publication-detail-pages/statements/monetary-policy-statements)Prime at 10.25% through September 2025, per the statement archive. ## More market news [ SARB raises the repo rate: what the September 2026 hike costs your bondThe outcome: prime has now moved — what the 25bp hike adds at each bond size. ](https://bond.co.za/news/sarb-september-2026-rate-hike-bond-impact)[ Rate decision on 23 September: what a hike would cost your bondCPI cooled to 4.3% in July; the setup for the 23 September MPC. ](https://bond.co.za/news/sarb-september-rate-decision-bond-cost)[ Bond initiation and registration fees explainedWhy the upfront stack rose in 2026 even with prime on hold. ](https://bond.co.za/news/bond-initiation-and-registration-fees-explained) ## Informational disclaimer This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Rates, instalments and fee figures were verified as at 9 September 2026 and will date as the MPC calendar moves on; the 23 September figures assume a rate move that has not happened yet. Instalment figures are illustrations under stated calculator assumptions, not quotes — your bank sets your actual rate and your conveyancer's written quote governs your fees. bond.co.za is an independent educational resource and does not provide credit, legal or conveyancing services. > This is the Markdown version of [https://bond.co.za/news/prime-unchanged-bond-costs-up](https://bond.co.za/news/prime-unchanged-bond-costs-up); that HTML page is the canonical version of this content.