A survey carried out by the firm found that 61% of people under the age of 40 would struggle to pay their mortgages if rates eventually increased to pre-crisis levels of 5%.
The Pure Gold Company CEO Josh Saul said: “Many of our enquiries are from people concerned that mortgage payments will become unaffordable resulting in property sales, relocations and a fear of negative equity. Over a fifth of people enquiring about buying gold have already noticed an increase in their mortgage payments as their variable rate has been effected immediately. Those most concerned have been retirees and young professionals such as teachers and nurses.
“We've also seen a 73% increase in financial professionals over the age of 50 purchasing physical gold in the last week. Unaffordable mortgages and record high debt are at the forefront of this decision. They know that over 9 million people have never known a rate rise in their adult lifetime, and they remember the property slump of the early 90s.
“29% of people who made enquiries to The Pure Gold Company in the last week have already taken action over the last six months to sell investment properties and use the proceeds to purchase physical gold.
“Our clients view physical gold as a long term store of wealth that increases when other assets fall in value such as property, equities or currency. Global political instability is exacerbating economic unpredictability, and physical gold has a proven track record of guarding against some of these risks.”
