FATF delisting ignites SA Housing confidence - Real capital returns

• South Africa exits grey list - credibility and capital flows return
• Bond activity already rising - banks ready to lend harder again
• Betterbond: Upper-end deals set to accelerate and unclog quickly

South Africa is officially out of the FATF greylist and the timing is perfect.

This is a hard-earned credibility reset. It cleans up the international perception of risk, and it removes the “compliance friction costs” that have been suffocating deal velocity for almost two years.
Put bluntly: SA is investable again.

Investment appeal, the switch is flipped back to on!

‍With credibility restored, foreign capital is more willing to move into SA assets and property is always first in line for real-asset inflows when global risk-tolerance shifts.

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Bradd Bendall, National Head of Sales at Betterbond, says it plainly: “This delisting is a strong invitation to invest in South Africa.” Betterbond’s October data backs the sentiment, bond applications up 14.6% y/y, the highest since 2022.

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Eight of nine regions are already showing more home loans granted.
The high-net-worth segment in particular benefits, lower due-diligence drag, more efficient approvals, faster cycle times.

Supply & demand, the flywheel turns

‍Export revenue to Europe is up. Tourism is rising. Both feed housing demand especially premium coastal and urban SA.

FATF delisting plus softer borrowing conditions plus one more expected prime cut before year-end = a serious affordability tailwind into 2026.

Bottom line

‍SA just got a global credibility upgrade and the property market gets leverage from day one.

Capital hates friction, FATF delisting removes a major one.

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