Monty’s Mortgage Blog

Author Archives: Andrew Montlake

Bank Base Unchanged, More QE, But Are Rates About To Rise?

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 06.10.11

I want to be very clear about the question posed in the title, especially as the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, (MPC) obviously kept rates on hold again today and in all likelihood, look set to keep it that way for a good few months yet.

This rise in rates I am alluding to is due to two things; firstly, as the storm in the Eurozone does its best to turn itself into a full scale hurricane of a banking crisis, because quite simply the cost of funds looks set to rise and secondly, liquidity issues are once more emerging from the shadows.

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Posted in Bank Base Rate, Best Fixed Rates, Best Mortgage Rates, Coreco, Credit Crunch, Independent Mortgage Advice, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Blog, Mortgage Brokers in London, Mortgage Rates, Remortgage, The Economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stick or Let’s Twist Again

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 03.10.11

As politicians all over the world wonder how the hell they are going to get out of the mire that surrounds them, we are beginning to see options taken that are provoking a great deal of debate. The latest is the US’s Operation Twist.

First tried back in 1961 as an “experiment” whose results are still disputed, this involves the Fed selling short-term bonds and, here’s the twist, replacing them with longer term ones. The result is that as more long-term bonds are purchased interest rates should fall, (it’s a supply and demand thing, sort of).

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Posted in Coreco, Economic Recovery, European Union, First Time Buyers, Interest Rates, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Advice, Mortgage Blog, Mortgage Brokers in London, Mortgage Rates, Mortgages, Politics, Property Market, The Economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Half A Glass…

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 02.09.11

At a time when negative headlines dominate the economic landscape it is hard not to notice that consumer confidence has taken a battering in recent weeks. Talk of a double-dip recession is on many economists’ lips and whether this is caused by a struggling manufacturing sector, a European crisis that is nowhere near over or issues in the US, China or whatever, the myriad of reasons being thrown up by all and sundry has almost become unimportant to the consumer.

In truth the average consumer still feels like nothing has really changed, the technicalities of a recession are unimportant, it is how they feel and for most, things still feel tight.

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Posted in Bank Base Rate, Best Fixed Rates, Best Mortgage Rates, Building Societies, Coreco, Economic Recovery, First Time Buyers, Independent Mortgage Advice, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Blog, Mortgage Brokers in London, Mortgage Market, Property Market, The Economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Inflation, Stagflation, Low Rate Nation…

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 22.08.11

As another Middle East country looks like it has undergone a regime change things in the UK seem to be quiet for once. Oil prices have fallen on the expectation that the end of the Libyan conflict could mean a return to oil production soon which should in time play through to inflationary figures.

Not that inflation is worrying the Bank of England as all 9 members of their committee that sets interest rates decided unanimously to keep rates on hold last month. This represents a small sea-change as at one stage at least 3 of the members were voting for an immediate rise, (although the main protagonist calling for rises has now left the committee of course).

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Posted in Bank Base Rate, Best Fixed Rates, Best Mortgage Rates, Coreco, Independent Mortgage Advice, Inflation, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Brokers in London, The Economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

First-Time Buyers: Retreating or Returning?

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 15.08.11

First-Time Buyers have been in the news this week with a report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, (CML), stating that last month saw a 10 month high in the numbers of first timers purchasing, although still down from this time last year.

This was contradicted by a Rightmove report that stated that First-Time numbers were dropping seriously, with only 23% of those looking to buy in the next 12 months being first timers, whilst 7 out of the 11 UK regions now in “first-time buyer blackspot” territory. The exception was of course London, which was still holding up.

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Posted in Best Mortgage Rates, Coreco, First Time Buyers, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Blog, Mortgage Brokers in London, Mortgage Rates | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment