Interest rates and Halifax report
June 5, 2015
UK interest rates have been held at 0.5% again by the Bank of England.
The Bank also kept the size of its bond-buying stimulus programme unchanged at £375bn. The decision by the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) comes more than six years after the record low was introduced.
The number of properties on the market is at its lowest level for many years, according to the Halifax.
This shortage of homes for sale, coupled with demand from buyers, has led to prices rising at a faster rate than wages, the lender said. Property prices rose by 8.6% over the year to the end of May, pushing the cost of the average home up to £196,067, its own lending data shows. Yet prices dipped by 0.1% in May compared with April.
You May Also Enjoy
Riskiest Places to Purchase Property in England
Cash House Buyer Sell House Fast has revealed the riskiest places to buy and sell property in England, based on factors such as crime rates, flood risk, air pollution levels, road collision rates, and coastal erosion risk. The 5 riskiest places for buying and selling property in England: 1 – North East Lincolnshire (Overall Risk…
Read More 
House prices steady in May despite broader market uncertainty
The latest Halifax House Price Index for May 2026 shows that: House prices fell by -0.1% between April 2026 and May 2026. This marks the second consecutive month of marginal monthly decline. Annual house price growth increased slightly to 0.5% in May 2026, up from 0.4% in April 2026. The average UK house price now…
Read More
Halifax House Price Index – May 2026
House prices steady in May despite broader market uncertainty. House prices edged down -0.1% in May, following a similar -0.1% fall in April Average property price now £298,806, compared with £299,251 in April Annual growth up slightly to +0.5%, from +0.4% in April Northern Ireland continues to record the UK’s strongest annual growth at +7.8%…
Read More 
More mortgage borrowers turning to shorter-term fixes
Borrowers are increasingly turning to shorter-term fixed-rate mortgages in response to higher rates, new analysis of mortgage search activity on Moneyfactscompare.co.uk has found. The share of Moneyfactscompare.co.uk website users comparing two-year fixed-rate mortgages increased from 48.4% in February to 55.6% in May, while demand for five-year fixed deals fell from 27.7% to 21.8% over the…
Read More 
Fear of a chain-breaks biggest concern in current market
The latest insight from quick sale specialists, House Buyer Bureau, has found that the most common reason homeowners choose a quick sale is no longer financial hardship, ill health, or the death of a loved one, but the desire to keep their onward move on track in an increasingly uncertain housing market. The internal data from…
Read More 
Property auctions generate complaints at four times the rate of the wider housing market
Property auctions account for just 2% of home sales but generate more than four times their share of complaints, according to a new insight report by the Property Ombudsman. The report highlights that while auctions remain a relatively small part of the wider residential property market, they are generating a disproportionately high level of consumer…
Read More