The single largest factor that will influence the Bank of England’s decision to increase base rate is inflation, which rose rapidly towards the end of last year and resulted in base rate being increased to 0.50%.  The latest statistics on inflation however, show that it has fallen and could continue to do so in the medium term, which in turn means that a base rate rise will not be warranted in May.

There are however many other factors which will influence the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee in the next few months, although our message to existing borrowers and to those entering the market for the first time is think seriously about booking a fixed rate of interest, so taking advantage of some of the best mortgage interest rates that lenders will ever be able to offer.

THE JERSEY MARKET

Holidays have such an influence on the property market in the Island, a time when we see enquiries and activity usually starting to fall away before holiday periods and for at least a week after a return to work.  It doesn’t always happen that way, and this Easter has been a busy one for our advisers, perhaps because fewer people have gone away, preferring to spend the holiday period looking for property or coming in to see our advisers to find the best mortgage.

A shortage of suitable property in all sectors prevents the market from becoming overheated, which is good news as the last thing that we want to see is sharp increases in asking prices.  Many purchasers also find themselves restricted, not by income and the multiples that The Mortgage Shop is able to achieve for them, but by the size of the deposit that they are able to put down, as this often dictates how much a lender will offer, as the larger the deposit, the higher the multiple on income that can be accessed with some mortgage providers.

The feedback that all of our clients regularly give us is that the perseverance will usually find you the apartment or house that you are searching for, so don’t give up too easily!