Reserve bank quarterly bulletin



Of the R123-billion worth of new mortgage loans and advances granted by the banks last year, R86,7-billion were to fund the purchase of 'dwellings and flats', according to the latest Reserve bank quarterly bulletin.

Only R18-billion was granted for the purchase of business premises, farms and churches, while R18,3-billion was advanced on other types of property.

Broken down by application, the R123-billion worth of advances was divided as follows:- R100-billion worth of applications to fund the purchase of existing buildings;- R15-billion worth of applications to fund the construction of new buildings; and- R8-billion worth of applications to fund the purchase of vacant land.

The bulletin also reveals that R134-billion worth of mortgage loans were actually paid out last year (compared with R106-billion in 2001).

This took the total of mortgage loans outstanding to R280-billion at year end (R253-billion), with R97-billion worth of capital having been repaid last year (R77-billion) on loans granted in previous years.

The most active month for housing mortgages in 2002 was May - with R8-billion worth of loans being granted - followed by October (R7,97-billion), April (R7,96-billion) and July (R7,67-billion).

In these same months, loans worth a total of R2,9-billion were granted for the purchase of vacant land. - Meg Wilson.

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