Interest rates - anyone got a crystal ball??

[scribblegirl]

Anyone want to take a (wildly unscientific and totally unaccredited) guess at when interest rates will go up? And how much by?

Just curious... We're nearly done buying a house and 'stress tested' our affordability to a 10% interest rate (would be about 50% of our income). Irrelevant now given that we are fixing for five years and may well move at the end of the term, probably out of London. But friends have confided that they couldn't afford theirs if rates rose above 7%.

I'm probably a total wuss but I'm a bit of a politics geek and have studied the early 90s economy a fair amount, and I'm not sure I could handle that sort of margin!

So, it's got me thinking. Anyone want to take a punt on what rates are going to do?

Heck No.

I think you're wise to stress test though. (And I'd salt away any spare you can manage.)

We're just in the process of remortgaging as our fixed term has ended. We've done a ten year fix at 3.2%. We'll be mortgage free at the end of the term so I think it's a pretty good deal for the peace of mind for next ten years. Obviously I can't predict if rates would go lower but I think that's pretty good.

Yes, flat until 2018 or later. US economy leads and has kept flat, but we will also have continued stagnation as referendum will damage economy (good trick Cameron, flatten economy for new government not under your leadership) . the low interest rate will continue to aim to draw spare cash out of cash into investment. Mortgage companies always give the 'if it went up to 12% you'd be fucked and homeless so fix at 6%... Guess why!

I don't think they'll go up by much at all in the short to medium term. A lot of the personal and company debt that was around at the time of the credit crunch hasn't really gone away and personal incomes are flat.

Everything is currently being kept afloat by low interest rates. If interest rates went up by much at all we'd be plunged back into recession.

you're not a geek, you've done some intelligent research. I know MN peddles that it is feminine to be thick and ignorant but it isn't really.

no idea when Carney and his mates will stop kicking savers though. I can't see a quick rise to 1990s levels.

I just feel incredibly grateful that this period of low interest rates has coincided with paying nursery fees for 2 preschoolers. Once that period is over (2 more years) we will be able to handle a sizeable raise in interest rates, until then we're hoping =