The Effects of Mortgage Interest Rates on Borrowers

People complaining at high interest rates today should have tried having a mortgage in the late 1970s. Bank of England base rate was as high as 17%. To find out whether mortgages up and down the land are moaning about nothing, I spoke to Neil Hudson, a housing market analyst. The big difference with borrowers now compared to the 1970s or 80s is that they borrow much larger multiples of their income. Back in the 1980s, you might have been borrowing two times your income. These days it might be three and a half, four, even four and a half. It does mean that you're more exposed to changes in mortgage rates from very low levels.