The Bank Of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) have voted to freeze the Bank Base Rate at 5.75 per cent for another month.



Uk Homeowners can breath easy following the decision not to increase rates, with the committee voting for holding interest rates at their current level for the second consecutive month. The MPC have moved in line with industry expectations following the release of the minutes of their August meeting revealed the vote to hold rates was a unanimous 9-0.

The decision for September will allow the full impact of the recent increases to take full effect on the markets, especially after the latest research showed that house price growth is finally beginning to slow down.

With many UK homeowners really struggling financially, bad credit problems are on the up, so UK borrowers have limited extra breathing space with rates still fixed at 5.75 per cent. Many homeowner mortgage holders are still struggling to meet their mortgage repayments and the 250,000 borrowers who took advantage of a two-year fixed rate deal back in Autumn 2005 are worrying more and more about the remortgaging in the current financial climate.

Another factor that will be worrying homeowners is the trend for rate increases from a number of UK mortgage lenders. Many have already re-priced or completely withdrawn their existing mortgage deals, but fixed rate mortgages are the main ones being effected, with new mortgage deals coming to market in a constant flow. The re-pricing was based upon mortgage lenders pre-empting an increase to 6 per cent, which hasn't happened this month, but is a move which remains widely anticipated to be the peak.

Mark Leaper at Moneymatchmaker.com commented saying "The market is signaling that the peak may well have arrived, so now may be a good time for mortgage holders to consider their position and refinance. By taking advantage of the competitive deals that are widely available and reducing their monthly outgoings or making arrangement to repay their debt faster. Leaper went on to say, "Moneymatchmaker.com provides a one stop shop with a simple process for UK homeowners to make finance comparisons for their mortgage, loan, insurance and credit card requirements. The process is quick and easy and the benefits are real and can be made available in days.

The fact is that only 25 percent of UK Homeowners have mortgages that will protect them from the impact of a further rate rises, consumer confidence has taken a sharp knock over the past few months and less people are now willing to spend, instead choosing to wait and see and keep control over their household finances, refinancing can make a huge difference to the amount of money in your pocket".