Kevin Shaw, National Sales Managing Director, LRG:
The Bank of England sitting on its hands today will not come as any great surprise. Only a few weeks ago, a cut looked quite likely, but the renewed instability in the Middle East and the inflationary shadow cast by higher oil prices have clearly made Threadneedle Street a little more cautious.
That said, the housing market has so far shown a fairly British talent for keeping calm and carrying on. We are not seeing the conflict translate into any meaningful slowdown in agreed sales or new listings, and our application levels from would-be buyers are up 9% on 2025. For all the noise around inflation and geopolitics, plenty of people still want to move and, crucially, are willing to get deals done. The market remains price sensitive, as it has for the past two years, but demand is clearly present.
I view new sales agreed as the “canary in the coalmine” - they are usually the first thing to drop off if confidence really starts to crack. So far, that canary is still singing.
Of course, a rate cut would have been welcome. Buyers always prefer a tailwind to a headwind. But one hold does not redraw the map. With six MPC meetings still to come this year, there is still every chance of rates easing later in 2026, and a move on 30 April would be warmly received.
In the meantime, the property market looks less rattled than some of the commentary around it. The Bank may have delayed its long term objective of reducing interest rates, but from our perspective buyers and sellers are not delaying in their willingness to transact.
