Interest rates up 0.5%!

[A Quiet Monkfish]

Two options:

1) As a country's population grows, so does house building, infrastructure, NHS services, schools etc to cope, creating more jobs and tax revenues as a result

2) As a country's population grows, don't build more housing and infrastructure and moan when services can't cope, resulting in workers struggling under pressure in their jobs.

Another question - how would you feel if, instead of immigration coming into the country, the UK had a sudden population boom. Would you feel the same about housing?

The net immigration to the UK over the past decade is 2,000,000. The UK has built 1.8 million homes. So there should be enough - in broad terms anyway. But only a tiny majority of those 2,000,000 are taking out mortgages and living in their 'own' homes;. They are either renting privately or through PSH. This pushes rents up from the bottom. A big change in the last 15-20yrs is the number of single people buying homes and living alone. Again this puts pressure on supply and prices go up. Finally, for 14 years interest rates have been ridiculously low following the 2008 crash. Buying a home - or perhaps put better - paying a mortgage - had never been so cheap. Again, this pushes prices up.

[Doucas]

The net immigration to the UK over the past decade is 2,000,000. The UK has built 1.8 million homes. So there should be enough - in broad terms anyway. But only a tiny majority of those 2,000,000 are taking out mortgages and living in their 'own' homes;. They are either renting privately or through PSH. This pushes rents up from the bottom. A big change in the last 15-20yrs is the number of single people buying homes and living alone. Again this puts pressure on supply and prices go up. Finally, for 14 years interest rates have been ridiculously low following the 2008 crash. Buying a home - or perhaps put better - paying a mortgage - had never been so cheap. Again, this pushes prices up.

This is 100% wrong.

[North Cardiff Blue]

This is 100% wrong.

He's 50% wrong paying a £100K mortgage has never been cheaper, as interest rates were at their lowest ever level.

[North Cardiff Blue]

The net immigration to the UK over the past decade is 2,000,000. The UK has built 1.8 million homes. So there should be enough - in broad terms anyway. But only a tiny majority of those 2,000,000 are taking out mortgages and living in their 'own' homes;. They are either renting privately or through PSH. This pushes rents up from the bottom. A big change in the last 15-20yrs is the number of single people buying homes and living alone. Again this puts pressure on supply and prices go up. Finally, for 14 years interest rates have been ridiculously low following the 2008 crash. Buying a home - or perhaps put better - paying a mortgage - had never been so cheap. Again, this pushes prices up.

House prices will go down now, it's house price inflation that interest rate increases specifically target, and it slows the economy as people stop borrowing to extend and stop remortgaging while adding debt to buy cars and expensive holidays that they can't really afford.