The broker has found that an overwhelming number of clients are ‘gravely concerned’ about the impact of interest rate rises on their monthly mortgage payments. A large number of potential first time buyers have also been expressing a reluctance to move for fear of a potential rate hike. However, rates continue to remain low and should remain relatively low for the foreseeable future, the broker has said.
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Simon Checkley, Managing Director of Private Finance says:
"There is still considerable uncertainty over when exactly interest rates will rise. However, what is certain is that rates are highly unlikely to increase dramatically enough to have a major impact on a large proportion of homeowners. Even if rates were to rise by as much as 2%, we would see that a typical client with a joint income of around £80k* would still only be looking at paying a small amount more each month.
"However, this is really a worst case scenario. A rise of 0.5% or 1% is far more likely, which would make additional payments even more manageable for most joint income households."