And here are the real-life effects of high, or at least much-higher-than-they-were, interest and mortgage rates. An actual government minister is resigning because he can’t afford to pay his mortgage on his pitiful ministerial salary. I guess that, in comparison to what he may have previously been earning and could earn in the big, wide world, it is perhaps pitiful. Further down the food chain, those with fewer choices must, of course be struggling still more. Those renting from landlords who’ve borrowed to buy-to-let are also soon likely to feel the effects; and there are many, many low fixed-rate deals due to come to and end this year. The plan is, of course, that we should all struggle, buy less and bring down inflation; then we’ll all be rockin’ and rollin’ again. If we’re all still here, that is.
“Conveyancers urged to prepare for squeeze as mortgage costs climb to 85% of household income”
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.
