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Nationwide’s figures for January 2010 show that house prices rose by 1.2% in month, and bring the year on year rate of increase to 8.6%. This brings the cost of the average UK home to £163,481. Following 9 consecutive months of property price increases, then unless there is a sudden change in February, annual rate of price increase will move to double figures for the first time since May ’07.

News that the UK economy finally emerged from recession in the fourth quarter of 2009 has strengthened confidence in the property market, even though the emergence was very weak (i.e. 0.1%!).

Unfortunately though, house price increases are not being matched by average earnings increases, with many workers facing pay freezes or even cuts. This could ultimately at least slow the house price recovery or even bring it to a halt, if demand for houses drops.

The Bank of England has decided to keep the base rate at 0.5% for the 10th month in a row. The rate is still at its record low, and commentators do not expect the rate to increase any time soon. Mortgage deals are of course rather higher than this base rate, with fixed rate deals at about 4% and even then, only for those with 30 or 40% deposits. Base rate trackers are better with rates dropping to around 2.5%.

The Bank of England has just announced that it is keeping the base rate at 0.5% for the sixth month in a row. It is widely expected that the rate may stay this low for at least the rest of the year. Despite this, mortgage deals are still only available at around 4% on fixed rate options, and you need a 25% deposit to secure the best deals.

The Bank of England has just announced that the base rate will stay at its historic low of 0.5% this month. Whilst this is generally good for people on variable rates, new fixed rates deals are still hovering above 4% even with hefty deposits. Since the base rate can only really go up from here, and is likely to before long, it is unlikely that fixed rates will get any lower.