As expected, the Bank of England have increased the base rate of interest again today. This latest increase of 0.5% takes the rate to 2.25% and continues the ongoing policy of increasing rates to try and control inflation. Whilst this is obviously not great news for anyone looking to borrow money at the moment, it is important to remember that this won’t have an immediate impact on you if you currently have a fixed rate mortgage. If your mortgage is on a variable rate, then your lender will be contacting you in the next few days to let you know your new monthly payment.
We have seen many lenders already increasing the rates on offer over recent days, which points to them expecting this rise.
If you are looking to buy a property in the near future, there is also the potential changes to stamp duty that we are expecting to be announced tomorrow by the Chancellor. No exact details of these changes have been released yet, but there are rumours of either a reduction in stamp duty or maybe another stamp duty holiday, similar to that which came in during the COVID pandemic. When we know more about this, we will provide an update.
There are many factors impacting the economy at the moment, including the ongoing situation in Ukraine, so there may well be more changes on the way in the coming months which are impossible to quantify. As always, our team are available to assist in way you need, so please get in touch if you have any questions or concerns.
As a mortgage is secured against your home or property, it could be repossessed if you do not keep up mortgage repayments