Raising The Base

With expectations piqued that the Bank of England is due to increase the current base rate of 0.1% at its forthcoming review tomorrow, Thursday 4th November, Alex Woodleigh Smith, Founder and Managing Director of AWS Prime, a specialist PCL Property Buying Agency, shares his perspective with Abode2, on what this means for the London property market:

“The much-expected Bank of England base rate increase this Thursday should come as little surprise. In my opinion, it’s too soon in the economic recovery to start making borrowing more expensive but the need to control rising inflation, mainly caused by the energy crisis and Covid related supply line issues, appears to be taking priority.

What does that mean for our clients? The majority of our clients are 100 per cent cash, and for those that aren’t, the kind of rates that will remain available for the foreseeable future are still hugely attractive. I dare say, the start of an upwards shift in interest rates might motivate a few more buyers to accelerate their purchase plans. If they buy now, they can take advantage of inexpensive financing whilst it’s still available.

With this is mind, we see little potential for any shockwaves being felt in the Prime London Market especially whilst stock is very low at the moment. I think we’ll see a few more sellers coming to the market encouraged by more positive market conditions but persuaded to make their move whilst they can secure the last of the bargain mortgage rates. I expect the phone calls I will be taking this week will be from clients who have an increased appetite to negotiate harder, to offset a more favourable purchase price, and make the most of what is still an incredibly good time to borrow, sooner rather than later.”

AWS Prime