Mortgage costs soar in wake of Iran conflict

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War in the Middle East is affecting household finances in quotidian ways: new data shows that a typical mortgage in the UK is now £788 a year more expensive than before the conflict began. Average rates remain significantly lower than in the wake of Liz Truss’s mini-budget, but nearly one in ten mortgage products have been pulled from the market over the past week. There was broad expectation that interest rates would be cut this year. But the rapid increase in oil prices risks a period of stagflation – lower economic growth coupled with stubbornly high inflation – as households manage a rise in transport costs by cutting spending elsewhere. First-time buyers are likely to be most affected by the change in mortgage rates.