Yesterday at 12pm the bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to hold the base rate at 0.5%. It has been held at 0.5% for 26 consecutive months. A few economists were predicting that this month would be when the MPC would start raising the base rate but most said that we would have to wait until August to see a rise.

This is probably down to the fact that previous rate rises have come in months when the inflation report is also released which it is in these months. Even so, earlier in the week a leading economist, Roger Bootle, still predicted that we wouldn’t see a rate rise until 2013. At the moment this remains a unique view, but as the months roll on and more figures are released we may see this view adopted by many.

The base rate is a very important number for mortgage rates, if you are thinking of getting a contractor mortgage or you have a tracker mortgage your rate will be directly related to the Bank of England base rate. For this reason it is very important to keep track of any important developments in this area.

The 13% month on month figures are dwarfed by a 142% increase over the same period last year. The amount of mortgage products on the market has reached back to the same level as September 2008. This shows banks are willing to lend again, but need new strategies to remain profitable.

Chief executive officer of Mortgage Brain, Mark Lofthouse, stated:

“The data from this month’s analysis is particularly encouraging and continues to show positive movement for the UK intermediary mortgage market.”

“There are nearly 7,000 more products available now than this time last year, which really does open up the playing field for brokers in sourcing a greater variety of mortgage products to help better meet their client’s needs.”

This greater choice is defiantly a good thing when it comes to finding your contractor mortgage, even though it becomes more difficult to sort through the market. We hope to become the number one resource for contractors who want to find a mortgage.

Average house prices in the Land Registry’s House Price Index has decreased over a year by 2.3% this was not unexpected, but there was a monthly drop of 1.1% from February to March. This could indicate that the rate of decline has slowed, as yet it is too early to tell.

House prices affect consumer confidence and mortgage applications accordingly. The upside comes because from first time buyers, who will be able to afford their first home more quickly. This may be why we are still seeing an increase in home buyer mortgage approvals.

There were localised regions that saw an increase, they were limited to the north west which saw a 0.7% monthly rise and London with a 0.8% annual in increase.

Contractor mortgage deals are continuing to get better, enticing new and existing customers. Mortgages have to be taken into account when calculating the cost of a property and determining what you can afford.

Author Bio: Article written by Taj Kang, Associate Director at Contractor Mortgages Made EasyTo contact us regarding this article e-mail: media@contractormortgagesuk.com

Category: Finances
Keywords: Contractor Mortgage, Contractor, Mortgage, Contractors, Mortgages, base rate, bank of england, rates