The UK housing market is currently being described as subdued by many housing experts as home mortgage lending has fallen over the last few months and house prices are struggling in many areas of the country. Inflation has cooled off and with other economic factors regarding the economy, the Bank of England made an important decision during the last monthly meeting. A few weeks ago the central bank chose to leave the standard base rate at its current level of 0.5%. This was good news for those on the fence facing a decision within the housing market, but bad news for savers looking for better interest rate savings accounts.

According to data from UK Finance, the month of April had some telling figures emerge. Mortgage approvals increased 11% compared to the previous month to settle at just over 38,000. This figure contrasted with a year on year comparison of home buying which was down for the month almost 10% in the same period last year. This data clashed a bit with the fact that many credit card users reigned in the use of the plastic during the month.

Howard Archer of the EY Item Club commented on the latest data to emerge from UK Finance, saying: “The housing market is struggling to gain traction amid challenging conditions and we suspect that any meaningful upturn will remain elusive over the coming months.”

Remortgage remains a strong candidate for any home owner looking to cut cost of monthly outgoings. Housing experts feel remortgage will remain strong through the entire year due to low interest rates and a high amount of lender competition.