In December, the historically low interest rate of the Bank of England disappeared, perhaps, and we would actually hope, forever. Very low interest rates are a sign of economic difficulty. The UK economy has been negatively impacted in the last few years with a recession, Brexit, and a global pandemic. The war in Ukraine will now be putting pressure on the economy. The many factors of the pandemic have had an economic impact causing a rise in inflation and while all consumers should beware, homeowners should definitely be taking notice.

The UK housing market keeps revealing resilience is a part of its charm. Just when experts are confident that home buyers are falling out of favor with the thought of buying due to higher prices and higher interest rates the market breaks yet another record. According to Halifax, house prices are increasing at the fastest rate since 2007. The market is so robust that the current average price is the largest annual gain in the almost 40 years of Halifax reports.

The average house price reported by Nationwide for February reached another new high. Records have been broken time after time due to the current housing market. Demand remains high and supply is short. It is heightened due to the expected interest rate increases which will make borrowing more expensive. The new record high average house price reported is £260,230.

Homeowners are being encouraged to shop for a remortgage. By shopping online, quick quotes could be obtained to discover possible remortgage offers. Currently, despite interest rates being increased twice, the interest rates are attractively low. More so due to the fact that experts forecast many more possible interest rate increases this year and next year. For homeowners, remortgaging is an opportunity to build a safety net for their financial health rather than face higher costs with their property loan.

Experts are warning households to take a deep look at their household budget and prepare for what is sure to come in the months ahead. Inflation is rising and could reach 7% by spring say experts. This level of inflation would be more than three times the target level set by the Bank of England. The cost of nearly everything is more expensive and due to inflation the borrowing interest rates are due to keep rising which could surely put pressure on homeowners.

The property ladder is usually seen as being in constant motion. New first time home buyers are moving onto the ladder and into either new housing or starter homes where the previous homeowner upgraded to a larger property. Then that same home mover might upgrade again or later downsize and their home is now open to another home mover. However, the lack of supply in the housing market is slowing down the movement of the property ladder in the UK.