To Rent Or To Buy?

There are pros and cons to owning a home and renting one. Here’s what you need to consider before deciding which option is best for you

- Lesego Seokwang

IT’S one of the most important financial decisions you’ll make as an adult – and chances are you’ll make it more than once over the years.

If you’ve been thinking about whether to rent or buy your next home, you’ve probably heard that it’s a buyer’s market right now. The pandemic has brought down interest rates and it’s an especially good time for first-time buyers to get into the property market.

“The interest rate is at a 50-year low,” says Samuel Seeff, chairman of Seeff Property Group. “Banks are still keen to lend and qualifying first-time buyers can find favourable terms and sometimes full bonds.”

But there are several factors to think about before making the decision to rent or buy, and even the experts can’t offer a simple answer because it depends so much on your circumstances.

We take a look at what you need to consider.

1 Low interest rates come and go

“Interest rates are pretty low and accessibility to finance is relatively easy to come by,” says Rowan Alexander of real-estate company Alexander Swart Property Group. “In circumstances where we find ourselves at the moment, banks are offering 100% bonds at good interest rates.”

It’s definitely a good time to make that offer on your dream home, says Ross Levin, managing director for Seeff Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl in Cape Town.

“We’re in one of the best buyer’s markets because property prices are more negotiable than in previous years [due to the effects Covid-19] along with the low interest rates.