Bank Rate cut offers first-time buyers a confidence boost

The future for aspiring homeowners is starting to look brighter

Commenting on the MPC's decision to reduce the Bank Rate by 0.25% to 3.75%, Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage and Housing Policy at the Building Societies Association (BSA) said:   

"With more than half (54%)¹ of would be first-time buyers saying mortgage affordability is a major barrier to homeownership, today's decision to cut the Bank Rate will come as welcome news for many. Shaving 0.25% off the Bank Rate is not a silver bullet, but it is an encouraging sign that the pressures on first-time buyers are starting to ease.

"Lower rates, alongside recent regulatory changes, a review of the Lifetime Individual Savings Account (LISA) and continued product innovation from building societies, should collectively help rebuild confidence that homeownership can once again be a realistic goal.

"The picture for savers is different. Falling rates, combined with the pending changes to savings taxation, will be felt by those working hard to build financial resilience and save for their future, including those saving for a first-home deposit."

ENDS

¹ Property Tracker

About the BSA

The Building Societies Association (BSA) represents all 42 UK building societies, as well as two mutual-owned banks and 7 credit unions. Building societies and mutual-owned banks have total assets of almost £680 billion. They hold residential mortgages of almost £495 billion, 29% of the total outstanding in the UK. They also hold over £495 billion of retail deposits, accounting for 23% of all such deposits in the UK. Building societies and mutual-owned banks account for 46% of all cash ISA balances.

Building societies employ around 52,300 full and part-time staff and operate through approximately 1,300* branches, a 35% share of branches across the UK.