Supertramp   10 #37 Posted November 9, 2017 No,its so the rich/super rich,Government ministers etc..can take out multi-million pound mortgages to buy large homes while house prices/rates are low,doing what they always do..looking after themselves...and pretending they are helping the poorer ones....  Good economics there.  Also El Cid, rates are low to encourage investment and also to encourage spending. If rates are higher, people are more likely to save.  Also decreases the value of the £ making British goids cheaper for foreigners. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Cyclone   10 #38 Posted November 9, 2017 Unfortunately props up the housing market bubble though, in fact has encouraged residential prices to continue rising, which hasn't been in the interests of anyone except property investors in the long run. In the shorter term it's in the interest of people who don't want to end up in negative equity (but ONLY in the short term). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Jeffrey Shaw   83 #39 Posted November 9, 2017 Also decreases the value of the £ making British goids cheaper for foreigners. I don't think that goids are made in the UK nowadays- nor anywhere else. They can't get the wood, you know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
choogling   14 #40 Posted November 9, 2017 The housing market needs a major make over starting with stopping buy to let mortgages and reducing the deposit to ten percent for first time buyers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Jeffrey Shaw   83 #41 Posted November 9, 2017 The housing market needs a major make over starting with stopping buy to let mortgages and reducing the deposit to ten percent for first time buyers. Yes, although you don't mean 'deposit' [= the 10% payable on exchange of contracts, whether or not the purchase is funded by mortgage advance]. You mean simply the offering of mortgage advances of 90% LTV (Loan To Value ratio).  ---------- Post added 09-11-2017 at 18:13 ----------  Also see today's BBC News item http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41917884 The replies are interestingly supportive of at least new controls being introduced. I posted the following there, as its post #23:  Falling average prices? Excellent news. The expected level used to be about 3.5 to 4 x salaries. The mortgage advance was mostly capped at the lower of: a. 70% LTV (Loan To Value); and b. 2.5 to 3 x main earner's salary. For the UK's long-term good, return to those levels. Yes, London is too expensive. Solutions: 1. Limit foreign investor purchases. 2. Move more jobs out of the SE. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
El Cid   193 #42 Posted November 10, 2017 Interest rates in the USA are going up, at least that is their plan, that will make it easier for the UK to increase rates. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Cyclone   10 #43 Posted November 10, 2017 90% and even 95% deposits are still available and have been for some time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
ENG601PM Â Â 10 #44 Posted November 12, 2017 Three pages of emotional guff and know nothing statements about interest rates and not a single person has realised that the base rate has simply returned to 0.5% where it has been since 2009, having only been at 0.25% since autumn 2016. Â Honestly! Get a grip. You'll be blaming Brexit next. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Jeffrey Shaw   83 #45 Posted November 13, 2017 Anyway, base rate is just that: a base, reference point. Its alterations do not necessarily have an impact on other rates unless they're expressly pegged to it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Cyclone   10 #46 Posted November 14, 2017 It would be highly unusual for the market to not follow the base rate of course in most products. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Jeffrey Shaw   83 #47 Posted November 16, 2017 True, but some may seek a competitive advantage esp. if they have lower overheads. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
El Cid   193 #48 Posted June 13, 2018 The US Federal Reserve has voted to raise the target for its benchmark interest rate by 0.25%; surely this will mean a UK intest rate rise is more likely.   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44473148 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...