With interest rates at their highest point in 15 years, the pressure is on for homeowners, potential buyers and developers alike.

Ben Woolman, Director at Woolbro Group, spoke with several publications last week, including Property Notify, Showhouse and Mortgage Solutions, regarding the effects of interest rate rises on the UK housing market.

He said: “The naive idea that homeowners would simply ‘adjust’ to higher interest rates is now dead in the water.

Mortgagers are instead having to come to terms with the life-changing consequences of this latest rate rise which, for many, will be devastating.
But make no mistake, today’s turmoil has been in the making for many years.
In lieu of building the new homes Britain so desperately needs, the government has instead pandered to ‘Nimbys’ and those who are all but completely opposed to any form of new development.

It is only now, in the run-up to a general election, that it has dawned on the Tories that the housing crisis they themselves have presided over could be their undoing.

If there was ever a time for the Prime Minister to publicly commit to reform of Britain’s outdated and ineffective planning system, it is now.

While this wouldn’t help struggling mortgagers in the short term, it would prevent local politicians from blocking new housing developments where they are needed most.

Planning reform is the only long-term solution to Britain’s housing crisis.
By bringing the supply of new homes in line with demand, we can eventually make homeownership a reality for those who today are completely priced out of the market.”

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