More rate cuts 'encouraged'

People hoping to buy a house in Scotland may be interested to know that one industry body has called for more interest rate cuts from the Bank of England. Convex.net, a company of online property conveyancers, has claimed that the Bank of England should take further measures to bolster the housing market. Duncan Samuel, managing director of the organisation, commented that the lack of activity of lenders is having an adverse effect on the market. “It is clear that very soon the Bank of England will need to do something to bring the Libor rate down to free up mortgage funds,” he said. This follows the Bank’s decision yesterday (May 8th) to maintain the base interest rate at five per cent. The decision met with disappointment among several industry bodies, including the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, which stated that the fact that housing transactions have recently collapsed and that consumer confidence has reached new lows needs to be remedied.