http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23588958

Christ, if you thought savings rates were crap now... Mine are tied in for two years at least, not that they'll produce much.

Most savings rates are less than inflation. Seems to me to be deliberate government policy, to get the population either spending money to boost the economy or paying off debt rather than saving.

The bit they seemed to have missed is some of their other policies have left a fair chunk of the population brassic, and therefore without any disposable income to be able to do any of those things. Still, just as long as the right people end up in the House of Lords eh?

Jon

There will be another major financial crisis and not before too long and we will be going through this all again. They have not learned that the problem was private financial debts not government debts. Just trying to maintain the property bubble by launching a "right to buy" scheme will only wipe them out when interest rates rise or house pricers collapse. They are well above the long term sustainable rate, so unless they declare that interest rates are permanently zero and never to expect any return on savings will they be sustainable at these levels.

If unemployment falls and most of the new jobs are zero contract what will that do for your ability to repay your mortgage? Add in rate rises and we could see many people losing their homes again. Though not until after the next election as they have said that rates will stay low for at least three years.

Well as my mortgage far outweighs my savings I am happy for them to stay at 0.5% for as long as possible

+1.
My savings may stuck, but it's worth it to keep my mortgage low.

Had interest rates been better than they were, my savings would be more, and I could have afforded a project I was scheming last year, That would have provided at least some part time employment for one other person, boosted the local economy a little and stopped one of the empty shop units from being boarded up.

As it is, I could only part fund it - with banks being less than helpful when it came to making up the shortfall. So the project’s been shelved until I can afford it.

Ok true but my increased spending power by having a low mortgage means I can do up my bathroom so providing employment for a plumber / decorator as well as all the suppliers

You really should be considering over paying your mortgage. These rates will not last for ever and if you take advantage of this period to massively overpay then you could seriously shorten the length of the mortgage. If the market collapses again then you will also have built a bigger buffer against going into negative equity.

Mark Carney: banks need to reconnect with society

http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... th-society

He certainly talks a good game.

'Good game, good game! Hope you're all playing at home!'

We are doing. When we remortgage next year we'll use the current low rates to reduce the length of the mortgage.

As long as you do hopefully you should be okay. I fear another property crash because prices are so high, and wages are going in the opposite direction.

Overpayed since day 1 (currently by approx 15%) but also want a life

As for a crash - with 420,000 new births the population is increasing and housing is not being built at te same rate so itr will stay high unless the goverment takes drastic measures of building a few million extra homes on "free" land as a large percentage of the cost of building is the price of land in the UK (esp in the South East)

What it will mean is the eventual increase in living density with multiple families in one house. The problem is the idiocy in thinking that house prices will always increase because of population growth. The problem is that unless they can actually join society with a home and a well paid job the prospects for ever being able to buy a home disappear. I live in an areas where the average wage is £18000 yet the average house price is £500000 so the prospects for most people is renting only. Even the cheapest flat is more than 11 times average wage. Who in their right mind will take on a mortgage with an income multiple of more than 11 times. Most rely on previously untaxed capital gains to climb the property ladder. The bottom of the property ladder is becoming smaller and a lot higher. Eventually the only way to buy will be with additional help from the bank of mum and dad, relying on their accumulated capital gains. Without first time buyers the property market becomes dysfunctional.

As more people are excluded from buying they will be restricted to renting and that will mean an ever higher rents and housing benefit burden. The problem is that people will simply leave the country and start elsewhere.

At worst I think they will just stagnate and anyway I bought the house to live in not as an investment

Lol. You have no grasp whatsoever of cause and effect.

Do you seriously think that massive emigration is a more likely outcome than house building?

When you find yourself reaching an absurd conclusion, why do you not feel the need to reconsider the illogic that brought you there?