July South African Reserve Bank (SARB) credit data, released yesterday, 31 August 2010, continued to show pedestrian growth rates for both total mortgage advances as well as for overall household sector credit, although there has been some mild acceleration in recent months. The total value of mortgage advances outstanding rose 4% year-on-year, up from a
3.4% growth rate in June.
The slight rise in mortgage advances growth in recent months has been largely due to the 2009/early-2010 mini-recovery in the residential property sector, which started to drive the residential mortgage book growth slightly higher. Commercial property mortgage value growth, on the other hand, has still been slowing mildly in recent months, which should be expected given the commercial sector's tendency to lag the residential sector.
