UK house declined in January by 2.9% from December according to Halifax. The average house price dropped to £223,691. Halifax had reported a 2.5% increase in December. The January drop is the largest since April 2018. Much of the cause of the decline is being blamed on Brexit and the uncertainty for the economy.
It is hard to believe that the calendar has switched to February. While things slowdown in the winter months, it seems as if time is flying by as the first of the new year is behind us by weeks. Time is, according to experts, also ticking away for homeowners and putting pressure on them to take action and remortgage. At the very least, there is encouragement to shop around and see what benefits are available for homeowners through remortgaging.
House owners looking to save money have a hard time finding it. Rising costs of food, petrol, and clothing are a constant challenge and always front and center. Making the monthly mortgage payment is only the beginning and even the thought of saving money can cause the greatest amount of stress. What all the financial experts recommend is to start a savings plan at a young age, but that is typically not what happens. Now, saving money has a new path. That path for many is remortgage.
Remortgage shopping could be well worth the effort for homeowners. This Thursday will be the first meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in which they will vote to either leave the standard base interest rate steady or make a change. While the interest rate is expected to be left as is this week, the forecast is calling for one to two more rate hikes during the year.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is due to meet this Thursday and the expectation is that there is no reason to fear another interest rate hike. The current standard base rate of 0.75% should be left as is and there is little talk of the rate being changed until spring. The outcome of Brexit is uncertain and while the MPC will be looking closely at the economy both leading up to the end of March and afterwards, it is not expected that an interest rate change will occur until moving into the second quarter of the year.
January news was filled with Brexit concerns and despite the impact that may have had on those considering plunging into homeownership, there was slight growth in the average house price for the first month of 2019. According to Nationwide the average house price for the UK grew by 0.1% to £211,966. This is the smallest growth in the average house price since February 2013 when there was a growth of 0.0%.