So the rub is coming, and here we’ll see the delayed and probably unintended consequence of using the blunt weapon of interest rates to ‘conquer’ inflation. Average mortgage costs climb to 85% of average income meaning that, for the average person, buying a house becomes still more of an unattainable dream. ‘Average’, of course, means that plenty at one end, first-timers, for instance with parental help, will still be able to clamber on to the ladder. Many at the other end will not, and rising rental costs will compound the misery; because it all sounds pretty miserable, doesn’t it? The end-off-tunnel light is that we’ve been here before and everything was alright in the end. Just a question of when the end arrives.
“40-year mortgages now ‘commonplace’”
When I was but a youth, I was often told to enjoy myself before I had the ‘millstone of a mortgage around my neck’. It was then assumed that you’d be dragged down by it for another 25 years, a lifetime when you’re but 25 yourself.
