HOUSING HOPE

The first interest rate rise for more than a decade will not dent the housing market, claims mortgage lender Halifax.

The Bank of England last week raised rates from 0.25pc to 0.5pc – adding £180 a year to repayments on a typical variable rate mortgage.

But halifax said this will do nothing to dampen the housing market. It said the average UK house price hit a record high of £225,826 last month – up 4.5pc on a year earlier.