John Goodfellow, chief executive of Skipton Building Society, said: “It was previously thought that, were the rate to move, May would be the month it would happen.
“However, recent economic predictions have changed to state that rates would remain at 4.75 per cent and so today’s announcement comes as no surprise.
“Although sterling is starting to strengthen, the weakening growth outlook and retail markets will have played a big part in this decision. It will be very interesting to read the minutes of this meeting to see whether they reveal the MPC in an overall more hawkish mood.”
Peter Charles, chief economist at Mortgage Express, said he believed prospects for buy-to-let investors had been improved by the decision.
Charles said: “There’s no doubt that prospects are better now than at any time in the past year. With the MPC voting to keep rates unchanged for the ninth consecutive month, it looks increasingly likely that rates have reached their peak and the next move will be downwards.
“With the election out of the way, there is now greater certainty about the conduct of economic policy. Gordon Brown has had considerable success with his prudent approach and he’s not going to change his strategy now.”
Peter Gladdy, director of Mortgages Direct, also supported the freeze on interest rates and said he believed they should be left on hold to avoid detrimental effects to both the UK housing market and the wider economy.
“The four rises last year had an immediate effect on the market and well and truly put the brakes on the level of mortgage applications,” he said.
“We believe any further rise could be the catalyst to a serious downturn in the market.”
Mehrdad Yousefi, head of intermediary mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, said: “There was little doubt that interest rates would remain unchanged this month (especially with the impact of the Election last week).
“I believe this is good news for the intermediary and should encourage more movement in the housing market.
“The stable climate of historically low interest rates provides the ideal opportunity for brokers to reassess their clients’ finances and introduce them to more cost-effective deals, whether they are moving house or remortgaging.”
