Lenders 'must not defy house hunters'

10-Nov-2008

An industry official has called on mortgage lenders to reduce their rates and help improve the biggest problem currently facing the UK housing market, consumer confidence.

Melfyn Williams, past president of the National Association of Estate Agents, labelled mortgage lenders who will not pass on interest rate cuts to consumers as "shameful".

The Bank of England last week cut interest rates by 1.5 per cent to try and improve liquidity in the money markets and pull the UK economy out of recession.

Mr Williams said: "Reducing the rate will help send a clear signal to the market and allow fluidity of mortgages to be loosened - giving the market and the thousands of house hunters out there the positive impetus they need."

Large lenders have begun to respond to calls for them to pass on the Bank's rate cut, with Nationwide, Halifax, NatWest, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows all announcing plans to reduce their standard variable rate mortgages by 1.5 per cent.

Some mortgage lenders pulled their trackers and fixed-rate products from the market after the rate cut and are set to announce replacement products this week.

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