The cut in interest rates one percentage point by the major banks and the two percentage points by niche bank Mercantile Lisbon was welcome relief for consumers suffering after rates rocketed unexpectedly last year.
Home loan rates rose by six percentage points from 18 percent in March to 24 percent in September.
This week's cut in rates is the second so far this year. Interest rates were decreased by one percentage point last month.
Mercantile Lisbon Bank's two percentage point cut, bringing its base home loan rate to 19 percent will take effect from March 15 for new loans and from April 3 on existing bonds.
Alan Greenstein, the bank's chief operating officer said: "The decision to lower the base home loan rate by two percent, which is one percent below the rates of the major banks, was taken in the light of the continued downward movements in the repo rate, the positive business mood stemming from the recent Budget and the belief that rates will continue to decline."
If you have a R100 000 loan over 20 years and your interest rate has dropped from 21 percent to 20 percent, your instalment will be almost R79 less every month.
You should make the most of this saving to get a grip on your debt. You can do this by maintaining your present home loan instalment as if the interest rate had not decreased and saving yourself thousands of rands in the process.
The extra R79 a month into your R100 000 bond over 20 years will save you more than R109 000 in interest and will reduce the term of your loan by seven years.
On a loan of R150 000 over 20 years, the drop in rates from 21 to 20 percent means you will pay just over R118 a month less on your monthly instalments. By paying this into your bond every month instead of spending it, you can cut the 20-year term of your bond by seven years and save about R164 000 in interest.
Absa, NBS, First National Bank, Nedcor (Nedbank, Permanent Bank and People's Bank) and Standard Bank all decreased their base home loan rates from 21 to 20 percent this week.
The new rate for existing loans at Absa Bank, NBS and Nedcor takes effect on April 1, on April 2 for FNB customers and on March 15 for Standard Bank customers. New loans are automatically granted at the new rate.
Origin, which offers consumers the opportunity to package their credit card, car loans, overdraft and home loan debt into a single credit facility, also reduced its rate by one percentage point to 19,25 percent.You need assets of R400 000 to qualify for this rate.
The interest rate offered by SA Home Loans,which is based on the Banker's Acceptance (BA) rate, is 17,7 percent. The minimum loan must be R100 000 and you must have paid off or put down a deposit 30 percent of the value of the property to qualify for a loan from SA Home Loans.
To work out what your new monthly bond repayment will be use our home loan calculator.