Bank of England Base Rate Held
11.04.09This months’ hold confirms that we are now at the bottom of the interest rate cycle, so borrowers and potential buyers need to be careful not to miss the boat.
The current strategy of quantitative easing, coupled with higher than expected recent inflation figures, means the base rate could be raised later this year to counter an inflationary threat. What this means is that time is running out for people to lock into historically low fixed rates, which are based on expected future, rather than current, Bank rate.
The window of cheap money that we are in could soon be closed.
There is a growing feeling that, from a mortgage and property market perspective, things are about as good as they will get.
As we have seen with HSBC this week, lenders are beginning to get more competitive at 90% LTVs and the consensus is that if house prices have further to fall, it won’t be by too much, which is perhaps reflected in the growing number of mortgage approvals.
Written by Andrew Montlake
Andrew Montlake, better known as Monty, began his journey with an Hons degree in Economics & Politics before starting in the mortgage industry in February 1994. As a main founder of Coreco in 2009, he successfully grew the brand, marketing, and communications, and was made MD in 2019 focussing on the overall vision, strategy, and culture of the company. As Coreco’s media spokesperson, Andrew can often be seen or heard on TV and radio as well as regularly commenting in the national, local, and trade press. He is the author of this acclaimed Mortgage Blog and is well-known for his social media, podcasts, and public speaking. Andrew is now proud to serve as Chairman of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, (AMI) as a cheerleader for the Mortgage Industry as a whole and continues to work at the coal face, writing mortgage business and advising clients.
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