In South Africa, "bond" means a home loan — the same product Americans call a mortgage. The bank lends the money; you sign a mortgage bond that’s registered against the property’s title deed at the Deeds Office, giving the bank security if you default. The most common term is 20 years, though 30-year bonds exist for affordability stretching.
Pricing is almost always prime plus a margin — strong applicants get prime minus 1%, weaker profiles pay prime plus 1.5% or more. Banks negotiate on the margin, not on prime itself. Competing offers from multiple banks (or a bond originator submitting on your behalf) usually move the margin by 0.25–0.5 percentage points.
Beyond the loan amount, registering a bond costs around 2–3% of the property price in conveyancing fees, deeds-office charges, and bank initiation fees. These are paid upfront, not financed, and are separate from transfer duty (also paid upfront). The bond-registration calculator handles both costs together.