A mortgage expert has advised people to buy "as soon as possible" as the Bank of England looks to increase its base rate yet further.
Speaking to Bristol Live, Graham Cox, the director of Self-Employment Mortgage Hub, which is based in Thornbury, urged "anyone who must buy now, try to do so as soon as possible before rates go even higher".
The Bank of England increased its base rate on Thursday from 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent. After they rose from 0.1 per cent to 0.25 per cent in December, today's announcement marks the first back-to-back base rate rise since 2004. The Bank's monetary policy committee voted 5-4 in favour of the rise - though the four voting against actually wanted to raise the rate higher, to 0.75 per cent. The rate is predicted to rise higher throughout 2022, with inflation predicted to go above seven per cent.
READ MORE: Five tips to keep your energy bills down as prices soar
Cox responded to the news by saying: "Most homeowners are on fixed rate deals, so for many this will have no immediate impact. But for anyone unlucky enough to be on the lender's SVR, they will be hit with an even higher mortgage rate. It could cause real hardship. And there's the prospect of further BoE interest rate hikes over the coming months.
"For anyone who must buy now, try to do so as soon as possible before rates go even higher."
Looking ahead, Cox says: "It looks like the era of incredibly low rates is coming to an end. I think we'll look back on 2021 as the very top of the market after decades of house price growth fuelled by cheap credit. Prices could well fall this year, perhaps by up to five per cent."
Property prices continued to increase throughout the coronavirus pandemic, despite some predictions. We revealed this week that the average first-time buyer property in Bristol now costs £297,000, up 7.8 per cent in just a year.
Other property experts have variously noted that this is only the second base rate rise we've seen since August 2018, that foreign property investors will not be affected by the Bank of England's decision, and that landlords - and hence tenants - will be hit harder than the average homeowner.
What do you think? Sign in and join the conversations in the comments below
