More than half of homeowners worry that their mortgages will rise if the Bank of England hikes the base rate for the 13th time in a row this week, an Octane Capital poll shows.
It found that 23% of property owners were “very concerned,” while another 33% were “somewhat concerned” about the prospect of a central bank rate rise on Thursday, making a total of 56% of mortgage holders.
Markets widely expect the BoE to raise the base rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%, the 13th rise since December 2021, as it bids to battle inflation. This would take the rate to its highest level in 15 years.
The specialist lender’s survey found that 59% of homeowners say they had already seen the cost of their home loan increase over the last 18 months, with 21% adding this had caused “increased financial stress and anxiety”.
A rise in mortgage payments would lift the financial strain on other areas of life such as bills and expenses, says 37% of property owners, while 31% point out that simply the ability to afford their monthly mortgage payment is a worry, the poll highlights.
The study adds that 61% would like to see more help offered to homeowners from the government or lenders as a result of higher borrowing costs.
However, it finds that 78% of those surveyed feel they are prepared to deal with an increase in the monthly cost of their home loan.
Octane Capital chief executive Jonathan Samuels says: “All eyes will be on the Bank of England again this week and homeowners and buyers across the nation will be hoping it’s not a case of unlucky number 13 when it comes to a potential increase to interest rates.
“For those who face the potential of higher monthly mortgage repayments, it’s understandably a worry and many existing homeowners have already seen their household finances stretched over the last 18 months due to increasing mortgage rates.
“The silver lining is that the majority have been planning for such an eventuality and are well placed to handle an increase in their monthly payment costs.”
The lender’s online poll contacted 1,180 UK homeowners with a mortgage on 16 June.
