If you’re a homeowner, Monday 2 November 2023 will be an important day to keep an eye on what the Bank of England decides regarding interest rates. It’s been a very challenging year for households, with interest rates pushing many mortgage payments upwards.

The reason for the elevated interest rates has mainly been because of extremely high inflation, which has contributed to some prices rocketing for household essentials such as food and energy.

To help bring inflation down the Bank of England has traditionally used higher interest rates to slow spending, with the theory this method helps lower prices back down again.

The problem being that while this process is in motion, many people are battling against higher prices for household goods and higher mortgage rates as well, and this combination can add extreme pressure on people and their ability to get by each month.

Propertymark has argued the Bank of England shouldn’t increase interest rates following the latest inflation figures, as this could add extreme pressure for some people.

While inflation has held steady this month at 6.7 per cent, this is way short of the ultimate target of having it back down to near 5.1 per cent by the end of the year.

Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark comments:

“We are keen to see inflation drop, as this is essential to help ease the financial pressures on many households. There must be confidence in the economy, however the balance between inflation and interest rates is a very fragile path which must be very closely monitored and responded to. Households should never find themselves in a near impossible situation where they are impacted by high inflation and high interest rates to the point they cannot get by each month”

If you’re a homeowner, it’s always useful to stay updated with what mortgage deal you might have and if there is a mortgage package that could better suit your needs. It’s also important that should you find yourself in a position where you are worried about repayments, you speak with your lender at the very first opportunity, as they have a duty to help where possible and will also be keen to do so.

Across the year house prices have started to level off and in some cases head back down again. This will be welcome news for people who might be considering or need to potentially move house. It indicates the balance of higher interest rates and in some cases lower house prices has equalised putting people in a better position than only six months ago – however, it would be positive to see interest rates drop over the coming months, as this would release the financial pressures of the last twelve months for many households.