More consumers are buying homes in groups

Mfundo Mabaso

There has been a consistent sharp increase in debt servicing costs

The rising cost of living and high interest rates are challenging consumers to seek out alternative ways of buying homes.

First National Bank (FNB) has a value proposition that allows up to 12 people to buy a home collectively. The total collective buying loans disbursed for the interim results for the six months ending 31 December 2023 comparing to 31 December 2022 saw a 36% growth.

Mfundo Mabaso, Growth Head at FNB Home and Structured Lending says, “In this tough economic environment, affordable housing customers earning a gross salary of between R3 500 and R29 600 per month are increasingly buying homes as a collective to cope with high interest rates and the rising cost of living.”

Internal data for the six months indicate Gauteng as the leading province when it comes to collective buying, closely followed by the Western Cape. Interestingly, while collective buying is popular in the affordable housing market, there is also a lot of up take from affluent customers and families buying holiday houses and financing semigration homes.

“Higher interest rates might be with us for longer than anticipated but there are different options that consumers can use to buy homes such as collective buying,” concludes Mabaso.