BoE comment: Property market remains robust

04 January 2022

John Phillips, national operations director, Just Mortgages said: “While the market has certainly cooled since the end of the stamp duty holiday, approvals remained robust in November.

“Traditionally, in the build up to Christmas things begin to slowdown, however this past year has been anything but normal. The stamp duty holiday drove historic levels of activity in the first three quarters of 2021, and while there was a drop in October, activity bounced-back in November.

“Net borrowing rebounded from the dip in October, and with property prices looking set to continue rising, this trend may continue in the following months.

“While rates are expected to rise following the Bank of England increasing base rate in December, they will be increasing from a historically low starting point. The ‘effective’ interest rate on newly drawn mortgages fell to 1.50% in November, and these low rates may help spark activity with buyers looking to capitalise before rates inevitably rise.”