Financially, there are many reasons why you should pay off the bond - among them, over time you will pay at least double the bond when you add in the interest. And I agree that most people are smart enough to realize that the REAL price of a home is the sum of the purchase price and the bond and factor that into the selling/buying prices of pre-owneds. But, some people have trouble coming with the extra money lump sum, so for them they may prefer to spread out the payments even though they are paying so much more. And if you really are buying a home and expecting to sell it within a couple of years, by all means don't pay off the bond. However, contrary to the real estate boom years when people were buying, selling and flipping homes, I expect the majority of buyers don't turn around and sell so quickly. As KeepingItREal pointed out, even at 7 years you are still ahead by paying off the bond, and 7 years comes up pretty quickly here. As Lark7 said, paying it off is a matter of expectation and preference for each homeowner.
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