Interest rates remain static

09-Mar-2007

In news which may be of interest to prospective first time buyers, the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) yesterday voted to keep interest rates on hold.

Although would-be first time buyers may have been concerned about the impact of a rate rise, yesterday's decision will not have been much of a surprise to many analysts.

Indeed, a recent poll of 64 economists by Reuters found that a minority of respondents (nine) believed a rate rise to 5.5 per cent would occur in March.

"Having surprised financial markets and commentators by raising rates to a five-year high in January, it seems likely that the [MPC] wanted to keep rates on hold while waiting to see what effects their pre-emptive strike has had," said Barry Naisbitt, chief economist at Abbey.

However, a majority of analysts expect a further interest rate rise before the end of May.

To find out about the different ways of financing a first home, see our section ‘Affording Your First Home’.

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