Interest rates stay at 4.75% after vote by monetry policy committee

The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee today voted to keeping interest rates at 4.75%.

Interest rates were last raised in August when they were increased by 0.25 percentage points to 4.75%.

Analysts are forecasting that rates will have to rise once more this year over inflation fears.

David Bexon, managing director of SmartNewHomes.com, said the announcemen was "a sensible decision and good news for the consumer. Despite house prices showing signs of recovery after the summer slump, the price of a new home was down in September. While this fall is not expected to last it is an indication that buyers still remain uncertain and do not feel confident in the future of the housing market.

“A decision to increase interest rates at this time could have proved detrimental, deterring buyers at a time when the Bank of England has reported approvals for home loans to be falling and pushing vulnerable groups into unmanageable debt.

“New semi detached homes have experienced the biggest growth over the last year, reinforcing our campaign that family homes are still very much in demand. An increase in interest rates now could have seen young families trapped in unsuitable housing, unable to move up the ladder.”

Last month, David Pretty, chief executive of housebuilder Barratt, said he was not in favour of interest rates rising but believed the market could cope with another increase.