Bank of England urged to ‘stop interest rate attack...

The Bank of England is facing calls to hold off on raising interest rates this week.

Its Monetary Policy Committee is set to meet on Thursday, with analysts expecting a rise from 5.25% to 5.5%

But with the rate of inflation slowing recently and mortgage rates stabilising, property commentators have suggested the Bank of England should hold off.

The National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) said things remain “very fragile” in the property sector - and a 15th consecutive rise could prove a tipping point for many mortgage holders.

The NAPB’s spokesman Jonathan Rolande warned: “There are very, very fragile signs of recovery in the housing market.

“A small but important September bounce has been helped by some keener pricing on mortgages. Plus, a year after rates began to rise, there is a growing acceptance from buyers that this is ‘the new normal’ so they might as well buy a home now, rather than waiting.

“With inflation seeming to slow and house prices still falling, now is certainly not the time to reduce the base rate, that would just put us back to square one.”

Rolande said the previous 14 rises have had the desired cooling effect on the economy but have been quite disastrous for many families and landlords without the luxury of a fixed-rate mortgage.

He added: “It would be better to wait and see what the longer-term effects of the previous rises will be, without the risk of tipping many borrowers into debt and the country into recession.

“I hope the Bank of England takes time to pause for breath following the flurry of activity in the last 14 months. Millions of hardworking homeowners will be hoping for the same.”

This was echoed by the HomeOwners Alliance.

Its chief executive Paula Higgins said: “We're worried that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of the impact this punishing series of rate rises is having on homeowners.

“There are 14m adults over 20 with a mortgage, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, and many households will be shielded by their current fixed rate mortgage. But eventually their mortgage deals - many of which would have been fixed at historically low levels of 1% - 2% - will end and they will be faced by crippling costs.

“The uncertainty of the current cycle of interest rate rises is also very damaging. Homeowners having to remortgage don't know whether to act now and fix or hold off. People need to know the situation is stable before they can act.

“This is why we're calling on the Bank of England to stop this attack on homeowners.”

Proper Estate Agent
20 September 2023 09:27 AM

Unfortunately both the gov and many bodies are too stupid to see the consequences of their actions and too arrogant to admit that they have already messed up with the attack on landlords. It will only get worse for tenants with the next tranche of dumb legal changes.