Knight Frank Finance comments on the Bank of England base rate decision

Simon Gammon, Managing Partner at Knight Frank Finance, comments on the announcement by the Bank of England of its base rate decision.

“The Bank of England would clearly like to hold borrowing costs lower for longer in an attempt to spur economic growth, but the cost of mortgages is likely to keep rising while lenders are being swamped with new applications.

“There were more mortgages approved for house purchase last month than any time since October 2007 and the surge in property market activity is showing few signs of slowing. As a result we’re seeing a huge variety in borrowing costs from lenders, depending on their volume of work and appetite to lend.

“The government’s decision to keep the property market open during the second lockdown was a sensible move and will prevent the market from clogging up ahead of the end of the stamp duty holiday this coming March.

“However any borrowers that want to take advantage of the SDLT holiday should start the home buying process as soon as possible, because there is currently pressure on all parts of the property buying process, whether that be among solicitors or conveyancers.”

Kindly shared by Knight Frank Finance

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