Interest rates held at 0.5%

The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.5% for the seventh consecutive month.

The decision followed a unanimous vote by all nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee, which also decided to continue with its quantitative easing programme at £175bn.

James Thomas, head of residential development and investment at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: “Our view is that the current upward trend in house prices is unsustainable and that prices are likely to contract by a further -7% during 2010. The prospects for house prices going forward will be dependent on the speed of economic recovery and will be heavily influenced by constrained credit conditions and the impact of rising unemployment.”