# What happens to your bond if the repo rate stays the same? - Canonical URL: https://bond.co.za/news/what-happens-to-your-bond-if-the-repo-rate-stays-the-same - Author: Neil B - Published: 2026-11-11 - Last updated: 2026-11-11 Market newsInterest rates Short answer: **nothing changes**. If the SARB holds the repo rate at 7.25% on 19 November 2026, prime stays at 10.75% and your variable bond repayment stays exactly where it is. bond.co.za calculates what a hold, a +25bp hike and a −25bp cut each do to a real bond. By [Neil B](https://bond.co.za/expert) · Checked against published primary sources · Published 2026-11-11 · Last verified 2026-11-11 repo-ratesarbmpcbond-repaymentsinterest-rateshome-loan ![Illustration of three arrows — flat, rising and falling — pointing toward a house, showing the hold, hike and cut scenarios, on a cream background](https://bond.co.za/images/news/what-happens-to-your-bond-if-the-repo-rate-stays-the-same.svg) ## Key takeaways - 01A hold changes **nothing**. Variable-rate home loans follow prime, and prime only moves when the MPC moves repo. If the committee holds at **7.25%** on 19 November 2026, prime stays at **10.75%** and your instalment stays exactly where it is. - 02Rates in force today: repo **7.25%** and prime **10.75%**, effective 25 September 2026, after September's unanimous 25bp hike. Banks re-set prime in lockstep with repo — the spread has been 3.5 percentage points. - 03The scenarios cut both ways. A +25bp hike would add about **R 254 a month** on a R1.5 million bond over 20 years; a −25bp cut would save about **R 253**. A hold does neither — bond.co.za's calculation, not a forecast. - 04You can move your rate regardless of what the MPC does. Originator submissions achieved an average concession of **0.67 percentage points below prime** (ooba), worth about **R 674 a month** on R1.5 million — roughly three times what a single cut would save. ## What happens to your bond if the repo rate stays the same? Your repayment does not move. Almost every South African home loan is variable-rate, priced at prime plus or minus a margin, and prime only changes when the SARB's Monetary Policy Committee changes the repo rate. If the committee holds repo at **7.25%** on 19 November 2026, prime stays **10.75%**, your margin stays the same, and your monthly instalment stays exactly what it is today — bond.co.za works through the hold, hike and cut scenarios below. A hold is not a non-event, though. It fixes your instalment for another six weeks, keeps the affordability ceiling banks apply where it is, and — after two hikes in 2026 — it would confirm that prime is likely near its peak. For a household budget, that certainty has value even though no rand amount changes. ## Why does your repayment follow the repo rate? The chain is short and mechanical. The SARB sets the repo rate — currently **7.25%**. The commercial banks set prime off it — currently **10.75%**, a spread of about 3.5 percentage points — and they move prime in lockstep with repo, usually the same day. Your bond is priced at prime plus or minus a margin set by your bank's credit assessment. So repo moves, prime follows, your instalment follows; repo holds, and all three stay put. Per the [SARB's September 2026 MPC statement](https://www.resbank.co.za/en/home/publications/publication-detail-pages/statements/monetary-policy-statements/2026/september), the current levels took effect on 25 September 2026 after a unanimous 25 basis point hike — the second of 2026. ## What are the three outcomes for the 19 November 2026 decision? The committee meets for the last time in 2026 on 19 November 2026, and the statement lands at approximately 15:00 SAST. Three outcomes are possible, and each one does something different to a variable bond. bond.co.za's calculation, at prime with no margin over 20 years: Monthly repayment by scenario — 20-year term at prime (no margin). Figures computed by bond.co.za; not a quote. | Bond size | Hold at 10.75% | Hike to 11.00% | \+ / month | Cut to 10.50% | − / month | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | R 1 000 000 | R 10 152 | R 10 322 | +R 170 | R 9 984 | −R 168 | | R 1 500 000 | R 15 228 | R 15 483 | +R 254 | R 14 976 | −R 253 | | R 2 000 000 | R 20 305 | R 20 644 | +R 339 | R 19 968 | −R 337 | | R 2 500 000 | R 25 381 | R 25 805 | +R 424 | R 24 959 | −R 421 | Read the first two columns as your budget: if the committee holds, the "Hold at 10.75%" column is your December instalment, unchanged. The hike and cut columns bracket the upside surprise — a R 254\-a-month swing on R1.5 million either way, which is why the hold scenarios matter most for what you can afford. These figures assume prime with no margin; your actual rate may differ based on your credit profile, deposit and loan-to-value. Use the [bond repayment calculator](https://bond.co.za/bond-calculator) to run the scenarios at your own rate. ## Does a hold mean your rate is fixed? No — a hold and a fixed rate are different animals. A variable-rate bond floats with prime, so the _next_ MPC move, in January or beyond, passes straight through to your instalment. A fixed-rate deal locks your rate for a set term and ignores the MPC entirely — usually at a premium to the prevailing variable rate. If you fixed two years ago, a hold does nothing for you; you re-set to whatever prime is when the fixed period ends. The full trade-offs are in our [fixed vs variable comparison](https://bond.co.za/news/fixed-vs-variable-home-loan-south-africa). It also does not mean your _margin_ is permanent. Offers across the major banks typically land between **prime −1.0% and prime +2.0%** (illustrative band, per ooba's rate-concession reporting), so two borrowers at the same prime can pay materially different rates. A hold in the repo rate never improves a bad margin — only negotiating, or switching, does. ## What should you do while the repo rate holds? A hold is the window to work on your rate instead of waiting on the MPC. The average rate concession achieved across originator-submitted applications was **0.67 percentage points below prime** (ooba Home Loans, as at 3 October 2026) — worth about **R 674 a month** on a R1.5 million bond, or roughly three times what a single 25bp cut would save. A bond originator submits your application to multiple banks at once, and the competition is where the concession comes from. To [apply for pre-approval](https://bond.co.za/home-loans/pre-approval) or compare offers, the process takes about 10 minutes online. If you are buying now, a pre-approval certificate locks what you qualify for at today's 10.75% prime and is typically valid for 90 days — long enough to span the 19 November 2026 decision and whatever follows it. Under the National Credit Act, banks test affordability against gross monthly income, with the rule of thumb that the instalment should stay near or below 30% of it; a hold keeps that ceiling exactly where it is. Check your qualifying amount with the [home loan affordability calculator](https://bond.co.za/home-loan-affordability-calculator), and if you hold a variable bond, any payment above the minimum during a stable-rate stretch goes straight off capital. (Published 11 November 2026. Rate figures verified against the SARB September 2026 MPC statement. Concession and rate-band figures per ooba Home Loans, 3 October 2026. Repayment examples: 20-year term at prime, no margin — your actual rate may differ.) ## Frequently asked questions ### What happens to my bond if the repo rate stays the same? Nothing changes to your repayment. Most South African home loans are variable-rate and priced at prime plus or minus a margin, and prime only moves when the SARB's Monetary Policy Committee moves the repo rate. If the committee holds at 7.25% on 19 November 2026, prime stays at 10.75% and your monthly instalment stays exactly where it is — the only figures that move are days passed, not rands owed. ### Does a repo rate hold mean my interest rate is fixed? No — a hold and a fixed rate are different things. A variable-rate bond floats with prime (currently 10.75%), so the next MPC move — up or down — passes straight through to your instalment. A fixed-rate deal locks your rate for a set term regardless of what the MPC does, and typically prices above the prevailing variable rate when the outlook is for cuts. Only at the end of a fixed period does your rate re-set to whatever prime is then. ### What is the prime rate and how does it link to the repo rate? The repo rate is the SARB's policy rate — currently 7.25%. Prime is the benchmark lending rate the commercial banks set — currently 10.75% — and banks move it in lockstep with repo, keeping a spread of about 3.5 percentage points. Your bond is priced off prime plus or minus a margin: offers across the major banks typically land between prime minus 1.0% and prime plus 2.0%, depending on credit profile, deposit and loan-to-value. So a repo hold means prime holds, and your margin holds too. ### What would a 25bp cut or hike do to my repayment? On a R1.5 million bond over 20 years at prime: a +25bp hike (prime to 11.00%) would add about R 254 a month, and a −25bp cut (prime to 10.50%) would save about R 253 a month — bond.co.za's calculation, not a forecast. A hold does neither. Run your own bond size through the hold, hike and cut table in this article or the bond repayment calculator. ### When is the next repo rate decision in South Africa? 19 November 2026, when the SARB Monetary Policy Committee concludes its final meeting of 2026. The statement is released at approximately 15:00 SAST, per the SARB's official MPC calendar. Rates in force today: repo 7.25% and prime 10.75%, effective 25 September 2026. Whatever the committee decides — hold, hike or cut — variable-rate borrowers see the effect in their November or December debit order. ### Get your free Bond Readiness Report A personalised affordability range, a realistic rate band, estimated total upfront costs and the document checklist for your situation. We’ll open a request in your email client, ready to send. 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). ## Sources - [SARB — Statement of the Monetary Policy Committee, September 2026](https://www.resbank.co.za/en/home/publications/publication-detail-pages/statements/monetary-policy-statements/2026/september)Primary source for the rates in force today: repo 7.25% and prime 10.75%, effective 25 September 2026, after a unanimous 25 basis point hike. Also the source for the committee's stated inflation concerns. - [South African Reserve Bank (SARB) — MPC announcement webcasts](https://www.resbank.co.za/en/home/what-we-do/monetary-policy/MPC-announcement-webcasts)SARB official MPC calendar — source for the 19 November 2026 announcement date. Statement released at approximately 15:00 SAST. - [ooba Home Loans — how to apply for a home loan](https://www.ooba.co.za/resources/how-to-apply-for-home-loan/)Source for the average rate concession of 0.67 percentage points below prime across originator-submitted bonds (as at 3 October 2026). - [ooba Home Loans — which bank has the lowest interest rate on home loans?](https://www.ooba.co.za/resources/which-bank-has-lowest-interest-rate-on-home-loans/)Source for the illustrative major-bank rate band of prime minus 1.0% to prime plus 2.0%, cross-checked with ooba's rate-concession reporting (as at 3 October 2026). Repayment figures computed at page render from the standard annuity formula (20-year term at prime, no margin), using rates from our central dataset — never hard-coded into the page. ## More market news [ Will interest rates go down in 2027?The 2027 cut path, and what it would save on a real bond. ](https://bond.co.za/news/will-interest-rates-go-down-in-2027)[ Will the repo rate go down in November 2026?The cut case in full — and what a hold means for you. ](https://bond.co.za/news/will-repo-rate-go-down-in-november-2026)[ Will the repo rate go up in November 2026?The hike case — and what another 25bp adds to a real bond. ](https://bond.co.za/news/will-repo-rate-go-up-november-2026)[ November 2026 repo rate decision previewWhat September’s 4.5% CPI print means for the decision. ](https://bond.co.za/news/september-cpi-november-2026-repo-rate-decision-preview)[ Kganyago says current rates are high enough to beat inflationThe Governor’s hold signal, unpacked against the 2026 record. ](https://bond.co.za/news/kganyago-rates-high-enough-to-beat-inflation)[ Fixed vs variable home loan rates in South AfricaA hold floats, a fix locks — the trade-offs before the decision. ](https://bond.co.za/news/fixed-vs-variable-home-loan-south-africa)[ R1 million home loan: monthly repayment at 10.75% primeThe full repayment, deposit and salary tables at today’s rates. ](https://bond.co.za/news/r1-million-home-loan-monthly-repayment) ## Informational disclaimer This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or a prediction of what the Monetary Policy Committee will decide on 19 November 2026. Rate figures are drawn from the SARB September 2026 MPC statement listed in Sources. Rate-concession and rate-band figures are per ooba Home Loans reporting. Repayment and scenario examples assume a 20-year term at prime with no margin and are estimates, not quotes or guaranteed outcomes — your actual rate may be prime plus or minus a margin, and the MPC may hold, hike or cut. Always confirm current rates with the South African Reserve Bank, your lender or a qualified financial adviser before making a financial decision. Prime 10.75%, repo 7.25%, effective 25 September 2026 (SARB September 2026 MPC statement). Last updated: 2026-11-11. > This is the Markdown version of [https://bond.co.za/news/what-happens-to-your-bond-if-the-repo-rate-stays-the-same](https://bond.co.za/news/what-happens-to-your-bond-if-the-repo-rate-stays-the-same); that HTML page is the canonical version of this content.