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The Bank of England has decided to keep the base rate at 0.5% for the 10th month in a row. The rate is still at its record low, and commentators do not expect the rate to increase any time soon. Mortgage deals are of course rather higher than this base rate, with fixed rate deals at about 4% and even then, only for those with 30 or 40% deposits. Base rate trackers are better with rates dropping to around 2.5%.

The Bank of England has just announced that it is keeping the base rate at 0.5% for the sixth month in a row. It is widely expected that the rate may stay this low for at least the rest of the year. Despite this, mortgage deals are still only available at around 4% on fixed rate options, and you need a 25% deposit to secure the best deals.

The Bank of England has just announced that the base rate will stay at its historic low of 0.5% this month. Whilst this is generally good for people on variable rates, new fixed rates deals are still hovering above 4% even with hefty deposits. Since the base rate can only really go up from here, and is likely to before long, it is unlikely that fixed rates will get any lower.

Latest figures from the HMRC show that 60,000 homes (worth over £40,000) were sold in March, compared with 43,000 in February. Whilst sales in March would normally be expected to be higher than February, the increase is still a sizeable amount on seasonally adjusted figures, i.e. 54,000 in Feb to 61,000 in March or 13%. This might come as good news for those looking to move in the near future, but obtaining a mortgage is still much tougher than it was just a few months ago. The Council of Mortgage Lenders reports that in February, first time buyers had to put down an average deposit of 25%. With the average first time buyer loan being £95,000, that means an average deposit of just under £32,000 – a significant amount for all but the most affluent buyers. The CML also reports that 2 million households would be unable to move now due to negative equity or inability to raise a deposit on a new property.

Figures from the Bank of England show that mortgage approvals saw a surprise increase in February, rising to almost 38,000, from less than 32,000 in January. The increase is a positive move back towards a more active property market. However, it is still well down on what would be considered normal levels of activity. Normal levels would be around 70,000 mortgage approvals per month.