UK property industry executives from PropertyFinder.com, Savills Finance, Smart New Homes, and Knight Frank all comment on the recent turmoil in UK mortgages and bank rates. Yesterday saw The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) giving borrowers some respite by deciding to keep the official rate of interest paid on bank reserves unchanged at 5.75 per cent.
PropertyFinder.com
“Borrowers will be breathing a huge sigh of relief today. The housing market has been slowing down and price growth is moderating in a controlled fashion,” said Warren Bright, chief executive of propertyfinder.com.
“The credit crunch in the wholesale money markets is effectively a rate rise by another name which will ultimately impact on mortgage borrowers. There is no justification for the Bank of England to raise base rates again this year.”
Smart New Homes
“I am pleased to see that interest rates have been held at 5.75 per cent. However, this comes as no surprise considering that there is already evidence of a slowdown in the market and recent reports of an increase in repossessions” comments David Bexon, managing director of SmartNewHomes.com.
Knight Frank’s
“No more can be squeezed out of the system. It would surprise me if what has happened in the States would be allowed to happen here. The UK did not see the expansion of a large sub-prime mortgage market in recent years. We are not as directly exposed to that scenario as the US is.” Liam Bailey of Knight Frank’s research team
Savills
Melanie Bien, a director at Savills Personal Finance, said: “The longer this turmoil goes on the more likely it is to hit consumers directly.
Melanie Bien, a director at Savills Personal Finance, said: “The longer this turmoil goes on the more likely it is to hit consumers directly.
”Banks will have to start re pricing their mortgages upwards, even if interest rates do not increase. The reality is that banks cannot absorb all these costs.”
Meanwhile Rightmove.co.uk remain upbeat about their prospects for profits despite the squeeze on UK homeowners. Ed Williams, chief executive, acknowledged that a slowdown was taking place but insists the his companies was on target to make nearly £30 million for the full year.,
