The Mortgage Time-bomb

With interest payments set to double to their highest level on record next year, it's fair to say there's a mortgage time-bomb facing British home owners. After the chancellors fiscal statement the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted an 100% rise in mortgage interest payments in the following year to 2023. As well as saying this would hit homeowners more than the 2008 crises, and families could be at risk of loosing their homes, the Lib-dems say this would be the largest rise since records began, but even during previous highs, the cost of a home was much lower compared to wages.

In the 12 months to September, a typical household with an outstanding mortgage of £236,000 will see their annual interest payments double to £5,689 – an increase of £2,851 a year, or £237.60 each month, according to the party’s analysis of the OBR forecast.

By Jake Landsberg