Industry experts have warned landlords not to get too fixated on what the monetary policy committee does, after the Bank of England voted to hold rates.
The central bank’s MPC voted six to three to hold the bank rate at 3.75%.
This was in response to as-of-yet uncertain impacts of the Middle East war on the UK economy and the likelihood of rising inflation later this year.
Steve Cox, CCO at Fleet Mortgages, said the rate hold should “not be viewed insolation” by the BTL industry as the mortgage market has already been responding in recent weeks.
“For landlords, particularly those approaching a remortgage or considering their next purchase, waiting for greater certainty may not prove to be the right strategy,” said Steve, who warned that a lot could happen before the next rate decision in September.
“I would suggest that advisers make clear to clients that the time to act is probably now rather than adopting a wait and see attitude,” he added.
Likewise, Martin Sims — distribution director at Molo — said there was a “danger” on focusing on the next MPC meeting.
As such, Martin said he sees professional landlords as being proactive ahead of this.
"They're reviewing portfolios, refinancing where it strengthens cash flow, and continuing to invest where the fundamentals remain strong,” said Martin.
"That also changes the role of the broker — it's less about finding the cheapest product and much more about stress-testing the case properly.
“Those are the conversations that are really shaping lending decisions.”
Charles Resnick, chief finance officer at Afin Bank, said the market will watch with interest what happens next — given reaction to the appointments of Andy Burnham and John Healey have been muted.
“Pressure on households remains considerable, but while the prime minister has promised measures to help ease the cost-of-living burden, he has little fiscal headroom to do so, so initiatives announced so far have been modest and supposedly fully funded,” said Charles.
“For mortgage borrowers, lenders are likely to remain cautious as funding costs and mortgage rates remain high, while higher gilt yields and fiscal uncertainty should continue to support disciplined lender prices.”
