The Bank of England decided to keep rates at 5.25% for a fifth consecutive time in March which wasn’t a huge surprise.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has previously said the Bank would wait for firm evidence that inflation was under control before it cuts rates.
However, he did also say that rate cuts are “on the way.” This could mean good news for borrowers, especially those that have mortgages that are linked to the rate.
Of course it’s speculation, but some are predicting that rates could reduce in the Summer months. This will depend on a number of factors, but inflation being under control will be key.
In terms of mortgage rates, these seem to have stabilised after an increase in February.
A recent report from Moneyfacts confirms that there has been ‘little movement in lender rates this week.’
A report from the Building Societies Association goes on to say that ‘Affordability concerns recede as interest rates stabilise.’
Both these reports support the activity levels we saw in March, particularly in terms of enquiries from home movers.
While we prepared ourselves for this to be the case at least until after Easter, we saw an uptick in activity and this has been the case ever since.
Hopefully this will remain the case and we will see mortgage rates reduce over the coming months.