According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), an average UK home is now £285,201, compared to £178,499 here in Northern Ireland. One professional in his mid-30s who spoke to the Belfast Telegraph said he and his family had moved over from a small basement flat in London to a similarly-priced three-bedroom, three-storey house in north Down. But the era of high interest rates means Northern Ireland mortgage costs just aren’t as low as they used to be.
The last few years have been a big change for all those who entered the workforce in the era of low interest rates, like our mid-30s professionals. Between February 2009 and May 2022, the Bank of England’s interest rate was set below 1%. The post-pandemic period, however, saw big price increases, with inflation being driven by global supply chain problems, and the shocks felt after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Bank took the decision to raise interest rates in order to try and lower overall spending, and therefore reduce the rate of inflation. The interest rate is now 5.25%.
There’s evidence that the Bank’s monetary policy may be working, as some measures of inflation show it around 2%, the target that had been set by both the UK government and the Bank of England. But despite the fall in inflation, the Bank opted against lowering interest rates at their last opportunity to do so in June. Governor, Andrew Bailey said policymakers “need to be sure that inflation will stay low and that’s why we’ve deci.