How much of your salary should you spend on a house?
As a rule of thumb, you should set aside 30% of your salary for repaying a bond. This has been settled on as a safe number because it leaves room for living expenses.
It’s a realistic amount to set aside for a home loan. Going too far above this is risky.
Use our Bond Calculator to determine how much you’ll have to pay for a home loan so you can budget accordingly.
Research from Lightstone property showed the minimum salary for buying a home to be around R22 600 (assuming a 20-year repayment term). But if you’re a low earner, you have the option of applying for First Home Finance (formerly known as FLISP), a government subsidy aimed at first-time homebuyers with an income ranging from R3 501 to R22 000 per month.
