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☆ UK property prices: Brits face biggest obstacles in 70 years to buying a first home
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“During some periods both the cost of buying (down payments) and the cost of owning (mortgage repayments) have been high. Mortgage rates biteThe average mortgage repayment has rocketed since late 2021 as the Bank of England, along with other major central banks, began jacking up official interest rates to bring down inflation. (The interest rate on some government bonds is used to set mortgage rates). On Monday, the average rate on a two-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 5.82%, according to data from product comparison website Moneyfacts. “An election is due within the next year and a new government, committed to helping prospective first-time buyers, might start by acknowledging the challenges younger generations face not just in housing but more generally,” the BSA said.

Persons: Liz Truss, “ Organizations: London CNN, Building Societies Association, BSA, Office, National Statistics, Bank of England, UK Finance Locations: United Kingdom, London, England, Wales

☆ UK lenders step up mortgage price battle as inflation slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - British lenders have accelerated price cuts on mortgages as competition intensifies, inflation slows and markets increase bets on future Bank of England (BoE) interest rate cuts. The latest inflation data on Wednesday showed price rises in Britain fell faster than expected in October, plunging to 4.6% from 6.7% the prior month, leading to further investor bets on BoE rate cuts next year. Reuters GraphicsThe average two-year fixed rate mortgage was priced at 6.19% as of Wednesday, the Moneyfacts data showed, down from a peak this year of 6.86% on 26 July. The country's inflation rate also remains high relative to most other developed economies. Lender cuts to fixed mortgage rates are also unlikely to be matched by variable rates that closely track the BoE rate.

Persons: BoE, John Charcol, Iain Withers, Sinead Cruise, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Bank of England, HSBC, Halifax, Virgin, Mortgage, Reuters, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Britain

☆ Government bonds are in a rout worldwide. Here's why you should care
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

When official interest rates rise, so do investors’ expectations for returns on bonds, known as yields. In the United Kingdom, the yield on 30-year bonds also reached 5% this week, the highest level in more than two decades. Yields on Italy’s 10-year bonds hit 5% on Wednesday, the highest level since 2012, when that crisis was in full swing. Mortgage rates riseThe yields on local government bonds are usually used by banks to price mortgages. High official interest rates in America and Europe have also raised the cost of borrowing for businesses.

Persons: Saul Loeb, Liz Truss, —, Matt Cardy, Freddie Mac, Andrew Sheets, Morgan Stanley, Stocks, ” Russ Mould, AJ Bell, we’ve, ”, “, That’s, ” Susannah Streeter, Hargreaves Lansdown Organizations: London CNN, US Treasury Department, Getty, UK, CNN, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, BlackRock, Hargreaves Locations: Washington ,, United Kingdom, Bath, England, United States, Europe, America

☆ Interest rate: Bank of England hikes UK rates for 14th time
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The Bank of England raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point Thursday as inflation remains stubbornly high. Six members of the monetary policy committee voted for the quarter point hike, two for a half point hike, and one for a pause. “The UK thus faces many more months of de facto policy tightening to come even after policymakers stop raising the bank rate,” he added. Inflation in the UK is still stubbornly high despite having eased back in recent months. Core inflation — which strips out volatile food and energy costs — also dropped to 6.9% last month from 7.1% in May, which was its highest rate in 31 years.

Persons: Kallum Pickering, “, — Organizations: London CNN —, Bank of England, Berenberg, Bank of Locations: United Kingdom, —

☆ Europe’s banks are bracing for a wave of defaults
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Some of Europe’s biggest banks are setting aside more cash to absorb potential losses on loans, as rising interest rates increase pressure on borrowers. So far, there are “limited signs of stress” across the bank’s loan portfolios, Anna Cross, group finance director at Barclays, told reporters. Loan loss provisions at Deutsche Bank (DB) jumped 72% to €401 million ($446 million) in the second quarter, Germany’s biggest lender said Wednesday. Jonas Goltermann, deputy chief markets economist at Capital Economics, told CNN that he was most worried about the potential for losses on bank loans to the commercial real estate sector. “The near-term economic outlook for the euro area has deteriorated, owing largely to weaker domestic demand,” the bank’s President Christine Lagarde told reporters.

Persons: Anna Cross, Jonas Goltermann, ”, Goltermann, Christine Lagarde, — Hanna Ziady Organizations: London CNN —, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, DB, Spain’s, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Capital Economics, CNN, ” Locations: Spain’s Santander, Europe, United Kingdom

☆ UK two-year fixed mortgage rates fall for first time since May
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Phil Noble/File PhotoLONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - A key British mortgage rate fell on Thursday for the first time in nearly two months, coming off the previous day's 15-year high as concerns about the outlook for inflation and Bank of England interest rates eased. The average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate - the most common form of home finance - fell to 6.79%, its first drop since May 27, from 6.81% on Wednesday, figures from financial data provider Moneyfacts showed. Those concerns in turn pushed two-year fixed-rate mortgages above the peak they hit last October, when then Prime Minister Liz Truss' budget plans caused turmoil in Britain's bond market. However, a lower-than-expected consumer price inflation reading on Wednesday caused BoE rate rise expectations to weaken and pushed down two-year swap rates which underpin mortgage borrowing costs. The average interest rate for a mortgage with a five-year fixed-rate period also fell on Thursday, edging down to 6.31% from 6.33% on Wednesday, Moneyfacts said.

Persons: Phil Noble, BoE, Liz Truss, Moneyfacts, Suban Abdulla, William Schomberg Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of, Moneyfacts, Investors, Thomson Locations: Manchester, Britain, Bank of England, BoE's

[1/2] People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls//File PhotoLONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Britain's economy is so far proving resilient to a surge in interest rates over the past year and a half, but it will take time for the full impact to feed through, the Bank of England said on Wednesday. "The UK economy has so far been resilient to interest rate risk, though it will take time for the full impact of higher interest rates to come through," it said. It said British banks were less exposed than households to the adverse effects of higher interest rates, especially compared with financial institutions in other countries, while the corporate sector remained "broadly resilient". "Nevertheless, higher financing costs are likely to put pressure on some smaller or highly leveraged firms," it added.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, BoE, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, David Milliken, Huw Jones, William Schomberg, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Bank of England, REUTERS, The Bank, Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, Silicon

☆ Andrew Bailey’s silence is hurting UK homeowners
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Bank of England’s silence has left traders in a tizzy. Market interest rates have spiked due to soaring inflation expectations, pushing up mortgage costs. That looks like an over-reaction but unless Governor Andrew Bailey says so, homeowners will pay the price. Now, traders believe rates will be at around 6.2% in a year’s time and stay above 5.8% for a further two years. That spike sent the average two-year fixed mortgage rate to 6.66% on Tuesday, the highest level since August 2008, according to Moneyfacts.

Persons: Andrew Bailey, BoE, abate, Bailey, Liz Truss, Neil Unmack, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, Bank, Finance, Bank of England, Thomson

☆ Bank of England warns of mortgage agony, says monthly costs could jump £500 for some
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Bank of England warned already struggling homeowners could see monthly mortgage repayments rise sharply in the coming months, but stressed households today are not nearly as indebted as they were in the run-up to the global financial crisis. U.K. households are currently being impacted by a cost-of-living crisis and higher interest rates as their fixed-rate mortgage deals expire. Almost 1 million people, meanwhile, were projected to see their monthly mortgage costs jump by more than £500 over the same timeframe. The central bank's report comes shortly after the U.K.'s average 2-year fixed mortgage rate rose to its highest level since 2008, deepening fears of an impending "mortgage catastrophe." This key mortgage rate came in at 6.66% on Tuesday, notching its highest level for 15 years.

Persons: BOE Organizations: Bank of England Locations: Ruskin Park, Lambeth, London, England

☆ UK mortgage rates surge to 15-year high after surpassing 'mini-budget' peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate climbed to 6.66%, narrowly exceeding the 6.65% touched on Oct. 20 and the highest since August 2008 when it stood at 6.94%, according to data provider Moneyfacts. Governor Andrew Bailey said last month there were signs of more persistent underlying inflation pressures after the BoE unexpectedly raised its Bank Rate to 5% in an effort to tame the highest inflation rate among the world's big rich economies. Swap rates, a key measure lenders use to determine the cost of mortgage borrowing, have also soared. The surge has prompted major mortgage lenders to repeatedly reprice home loan offerings. British homebuyers typically take out mortgages with an interest rate that is fixed for two or five years, and then remortgage on to a new fixed rate or accept a variable rate.

Persons: Liz Truss, Andrew Bailey, BoE, reprice, Andrew Asaam, Suban Adbulla, Sachin Ravikumar, William Schomberg, Kate Holton, Andy Bruce Organizations: Bank of England, Nationwide, Lloyds Bank, Santander, Tuesday, Treasury, Lloyds Banking Group, Thomson Locations: Britain's, British, Halifax

☆ Mortgage rates in Britain hit 15-year high — with many fearful there's more misery to come
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It means mortgage costs are now at their highest level since August 2008 during the global financial crisis. The average 5-year mortgage rate rose to 6.17% on Tuesday, Moneyfacts said, a marginal increase from Monday but still some way off the 6.51% level reached on Oct. 20. U.K. mortgage costs, which had staged a recovery in the months following the "mini-budget" crisis, have soared recently following 13 consecutive rate hikes by the Bank of England. Most recently, the central bank increased rates by 50 basis points to 5%, a bigger increase than many had expected. Renters, too, are likely to see their payments increase as buy-to-let landlords pass on higher mortgage repayments.

Persons: Kwasi, Moneyfacts, Andrew Bailey Organizations: Financial, Authority, London Borough, Finance, Bank of England Locations: Enfield, England, London

☆ Britain's house prices are slumping as mortgage rates soar — and there could be worse to come
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The average U.K. property now costs £285,932 (£364,490), down from a peak of £293,992 in August 2022. The summer is likely to see price cuts become even more widespread, and we may well see house prices fall more significantly. The summer is likely to see price cuts become even more widespread, and we may well see house prices fall more significantly," she added. In its latest global housing index released Wednesday, the real estate company said U.K. house prices fell 3.1% annually in the first quarter. Mortgage rates continue to rise

Persons: Kim Kinnaird, BOE, Sarah Coles, Hargreaves, Hargreaves Lansdowne Sarah Coles, Hargreaves Lansdowne, Coles, Nathan Stirk, Sellers, Liam Bailey, Knight Frank Organizations: Bank of England, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Hargreaves Lansdowne, CNBC, Mortgage Locations: Halifax

☆ Savers should be cheering higher interest rates. So why are they unhappy?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —When central banks raise interest rates, mortgage borrowers can expect higher monthly repayments, while savers are supposed to be rewarded with bigger returns on their deposits. In Asia, the picture is less uniform: China cut its benchmark lending rate last month, adding to recent reductions in other interest rates, and Japan has kept its main interest rate negative in a bid to stimulate demand. However, rates on savings accounts there are closer to the central bank’s main rate than in other major economies. “While interest rates were ultra-low, the mortgage market was incredibly competitive, so [banks] were operating on unusually small margins between savings rates and mortgage deals… so they’re busy filling their boots,” she said. The top 100 US money market funds tracked by Crane Data are offering an average annual interest rate of 4.94%.

Persons: Nathan Howard, Jeremy Hunt, Sarah Coles, Hargreaves Lansdown, ”, Christopher Furlong, Crane, Peter Crane, they’ve Organizations: London CNN, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, US Federal Reserve, Bloomberg, Getty, European Central Bank, of, CNN, Getty Images Bank, Finance, Bank of England’s, HSBC, Barclays, Crane Data, Bank of England, “ Locations: Europe, United States, United Kingdom, Asia, China, Japan, South Korea

☆ Britain is facing a mortgage crisis. There are no easy answers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Mortgage painThe announcement comes a day after the Bank of England raised interest rates by half a percentage point to help bring down stubborn inflation. More than 2 million UK mortgage holders paying a fixed interest rate are facing an increase of hundreds of pounds in monthly repayments when they are forced to refinance this year and next. Many borrowers bought their homes when mortgage rates were closer to 1% or 2%. That sets the country apart from other major economies, including the United States, where on both measures inflation has started to ease. After the latest rise in interest rates Thursday, Hunt said the government would “stick to [its] guns” on keeping rates high to tame high prices.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, Sarah Coles, Hargreaves Lansdown, ”, Matt Hammerstein, David Duffy, Debbie Crosby, James Manning, ” Max Mosley, Jake Berry, Sunak, Liz Truss, Brexit, Mark Carney, Charlie Bean, Hunt, ” — Hanna Ziady Organizations: London CNN, UK Treasury, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, BCS, CNN, Bank of England, National Institute of Economic, Social Research, Virgin Money, Conservative Party, Institute for Fiscal Studies, European Union, Bank of, Daily Telegraph, BBC Radio Locations: United Kingdom, United States, Britain

☆ Bank of England hikes interest rates to 5%, stoking fears of a ‘mortgage bomb’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —The Bank of England raised interest rates by half a percentage point Thursday, after data this week revealed surprisingly stubborn inflation. Many mortgage holders due to refinance their loans this year and next bought their homes when interest rates were much lower and mortgage rates were closer to 1% or 2%. Capital Economics is forecasting a 12% decline in house prices between their August 2022 peak and 2024. If interest rates must stay higher for longer to tame inflation, house prices could fall more sharply. “If mortgage rates were to stay at 6% for several years, a house price fall of 25% would be likely,” Wishart said.

Persons: we’ve, Andrew Bailey, ”, Jake Berry, Rishi Sunak, ” Simon Pittaway, Tom Bill, Knight Frank, Bill, Banks, ” Bill, “, There’s, Andrew Wishart, ” Wishart Organizations: London CNN —, Bank of England, ” Bank of England, ” Financial, “, Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK Finance, CNN, Savings, Capital Economics Locations: United Kingdom, United States, Europe, —

☆ Credibility crisis requires BoE to write new plot
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Since May 24, thousands of British people have had their homeowning dreams dashed by a sudden spike in mortgage rates. Unlike many other central banks, the BoE doesn’t provide its own forecasts of how consumer prices will evolve in coming years. The whiplash occurred because traders had to digest the inflation shock without any interest rate guidance from policymakers. Because most banks price home loans off those derivatives, it sent mortgage rates rocketing. The BoE announces its latest interest rate decision on June 22, with traders expecting a 25-basis-point hike, to 4.75%.

Persons: “, Paul Gascoigne, BoE, Andrew Bailey, That’s, Bailey, ”, Charles Goodhart, ’, apocryphally, Seneca, David Roberts, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Bank of England, Monetary, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Reuters Graphics Reuters, MPC, Financial Times, Fed, Thomson Locations: policymaking, BoE’s

☆ Squeeze on UK tenants tightens as rents outpace incomes, survey shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asking and agreed rents continued to outpace incomes with tenants spending 28.3% of their pre-tax earnings on rent last month, above the 10-year average of 27%, Zoopla said. May's figures marked the 19th month in a row that rental price growth outstripped incomes. He expected affordability strains to slow the pace of rental growth in 2024. Inflation data for May is due to be published on Wednesday. Zoopla said 53% of renters it surveyed reported a rent rise in the six months to May, up from 35% six months earlier.

Persons: Toby Melville, Zoopla, Richard Donnell, Donnell, BoE, Moneyfacts, Liz Truss's, Zoopla's Donnell, Zoopla's, Suban Abdulla, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Homeowners, Bank of, Nationwide, HSBC, Halifax, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bank of England

☆ Brits are facing a major mortgage crisis as lending rates soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

U.K. borrowers are facing sharply higher mortgage costs. LONDON — U.K. borrowers are facing a cliff edge that could damage the economy as rising mortgage costs hit deal renewals and the number of products available shrinks, experts warned Monday. Prior to this, Moneyfacts said two-year fixed rates were last above 6% in November 2008. The number of residential mortgage products available has also fallen, from 5,264 on May 1 to 4,683. The average rate for a five-year mortgage is currently 5.67%, according to Moneyfacts.

Persons: Moneyfacts, Martin Stewart, Stewart, Rishi Sunak, ITV's Organizations: LONDON, CNBC Locations: Halifax, United Kingdom, Britain

The housing market has totemic importance in Britain's consumption-driven economy and is closely linked to consumer confidence. The average mortgage rate on new two-year mortgage deals rose on Wednesday to 5.90%, according to property data provider Moneyfacts - the highest since December last year, in the aftermath of the mini-budget. "It takes a far lower mortgage rate to create the same amount of financial stress in terms of repayments as a double-digit mortgage rate did back in previous periods," Hudson said. Reuters GraphicsSTRESSThe question now is how mortgage market stress will feed through into the real economy. Jamie Lennox, director at broker Dimora Mortgages, said there was "no end in sight" for the trouble in the mortgage market.

Persons: Hannah McKay, Liz Truss, We're, Neal Hudson, Hudson, Jamie Lennox, shivers, BoE, Philip Shaw, Lucy Raitano, Iain Withers, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of England, Investors, HSBC, Reuters, Financial, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, BoE's

☆ UK homeowners brace for more mortgage pain as borrowing costs shoot up
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Existing and aspiring UK homeowners are bracing for a fresh wave of misery as a rise in benchmark borrowing costs threatens to push up monthly mortgage payments. The yield on the country’s two-year government bonds — which is used to set interest rates on mortgages — jumped to 4.87% on Tuesday. The figures have pointed to persistent inflationary pressures, increasing the chances of more interest rate hikes by the Bank of England and driving up gilt yields. “We’ve had to reflect that in our mortgage rates,” the spokesperson said. “[UK inflation] is a chronic problem, and it’s not something that you can deal with quickly.”

Persons: Liz Truss, Craig, Samuel Tombs, “ We’ve, Paul Dales, “, Truss, Henry Nicholls, ”, Ed Al Organizations: London CNN, Bank of England, Royal London Asset Management, CNN, Pantheon, UK Finance, HSBC, HSBC UK, Capital Economics, Reuters, Columbia Threadneedle Investments Locations: United Kingdom, Europe, United States

☆ UK housing market strains grow as mortgage rates creep higher
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File PhotoLONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Mortgage rates in Britain rose again on Friday as economists warned that rising borrowing costs would put the housing market under renewed strain. Late on Thursday, HSBC temporarily withdrew mortgage products for customers applying via brokers. HSBC said its mortgage products and interest rates remained available for existing customers. Rival lender Nationwide Building Society also raised its mortgage rates on Friday, having already revised them up twice since last month's Bank of England interest rate hike. On Friday, consultancy Oxford Economics predicted a 10% peak-to-trough drop in house prices, based on the BoE raising interest rates to 5%.

Persons: Luke MacGregor, Moneyfacts, BoE, Andrew Goodwin, we're, David Milliken, Frances Kerry, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Bank of England, HSBC, Society, Bank of, Oxford Economics, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bank of England, British

☆ Brits are being offered no-deposit 100% mortgage loans for the first time since 2008
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Renters in the U.K. will be able to borrow up to 100% of the value of a property in a new mortgage scheme introduced by Skipton Building Society. LONDON — Renters in the U.K. will be able to borrow up to 100% of the value of a property without a guarantor or deposit in a new mortgage plan introduced by Skipton Building Society. The average five-year rate was 5% in March, according to the Moneyfacts UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report, across all loan-to-value ratios. Buyers typically get a 5.33% mortgage rate on 95% LTVs, according to the report, but the majority of buyers opt for a lower rate. The new Skipton deal is widely reported to be the first time a mortgage lender has offered 100% mortgage products since 2008, when some building societies offered rates of up to 125%.

Instead, despite reporting robust profits, banks' shares have broadly stumbled as they forecast margin pressure, suggesting intensifying competition for customers' deposits and mortage business to come. "It may be that we've seen the peak of margin," said William Chalmers, finance chief of Britain's biggest domestic bank Lloyds (LLOY.L) on Wednesday. Lenders say they have started to pass on higher rates to savers, adding that profitability is rebounding after years of low margins. Pressure to immediately increase the rates banks pay savers has been intensified by the digital offerings from U.S. entrants into the market such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, executives at the top British lenders said. In contrast to floating rates, which broadly track the Bank of England benchmark, fixed mortgage rates have started to fall as competition intensifies.

☆ Asking prices for UK homes rise after "mini-budget" shock, Rightmove says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Asking prices for British homes rose for the first time in two months as the housing market showed signs of calming after the turmoil triggered by former prime minister Liz Truss's "mini-budget", property website Rightmove (RMV.L) said on Monday. Asking prices for residential properties increased by 0.9%, or 3,301 pounds ($4,032.50) in the Dec. 4-Jan. 7 period from a month earlier, after a 2.1% fall over the previous month, Rightmove said. However, average asking prices were still 2% below their October 2022 peak. Two- and five-year fixed rates have fallen for a second month to 5.8% and 5.6% respectively, according to data from website Moneyfacts. In annual terms, property prices rose 6.3% in January, up from a rise of 5.6% the month before.

☆ Demand for rural homes in Britain drops as pandemic effect fades, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Demand for rural homes in Britain dropped as the pandemic trend of relocating to the countryside faded, according to real estate website Zoopla. In the wider Lake District national park area, demand dipped 5% compared to the same period, and in mid-Wales it fell 10%. In April 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, 46.6% of people in employment did some work from home, according to the Office for National Statistics. The U.K. mortgage market fell into crisis in September following drastic policy shifts by then-Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng. Some market watchers are now predicting a major downturn in the U.K. property market as a result of the country's weakened economy and sticky high inflation rate.

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