Martin Lewis issues warning to first time house buyers on GMB

The Money Saving Expert founder, who co-hosted this morning’s GMB with Susanna Ried, hosted a special cost of living episode amid a week of rising mortgage rates and economic uncertainty. 

READ MORE: Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng revokes scrapping of 45p tax rate ahead of Tory conference

READ MORE: How much could my mortgage go up amid potential interest rate rise?

We get it, and we have listened. pic.twitter.com/lOfwHTUo76

— Kwasi Kwarteng (@KwasiKwarteng) October 3, 2022

What did Martin Lewis say to first time buyers? 

In response to a caller asking if now was a “good time” to buy their first home, the presenter said: “If you've got a decent deposit and you've found a house that you love, and you've got a mortgage that is affordable for you, and you're going to stay in that property for a long time, get on with it. Buy your house.” 

However, he warned: “if you're doing this because 'this isn't the house I want but I feel I should do it now before everything goes wrong and it all goes belly up'... don't buy your house. We're working with so many variables, there are no firm right answers". 

This comes as HSBC and other banks announced that mortgages could rise to as high as £5,000 a year. 

What did Martin Lewis say about the Chancellor's U-turn? 

Martin Lewis also criticised the Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng for refusing to appear on his show after U-turning on proposed tax cuts in his ‘mini-budget.’ 

In a response to a user on Twitter, Mr Lewis said: “Sadly the Chancellor has decided not to appear on @GMB on the day I happen to be on (no idea if that’s related).” 

The Chancellor, who tweeted his reversal on Twitter, announced he would scrap the 45p rate of income tax a few days ago. 

Bank of England on the Chancellor’s U-turn

Yui Mok/PA The Bank of England's Deputy Governor criticised the Chancellor's budget (Image: Yui Mok/PA)

The Bank of England’s Deputy Governor, Sir Charlie Bean told ITV’s GMB that he did not think the U-turn would make any real difference. 

He said: "This is a relatively small component of the overall package that was announced, and the thing that spooked the markets wasn't the energy price guarantee, it was the other stuff, rolling back National Insurance increases, the corporate tax, cutting the basic rate."