HOMEOWNERS could escape an interest rate rise next month as well as this one, it is forecast.

Borrowers were spared a rise on Thursday - leaving rates at 4.75 per cent as predicted - and already another "hold" decision is being forecast for next month.

Bradford & Bingley head of product operations David Bitner said: "I would expect the base rate to remain at this level for at least another month, and possibly longer.

"Interestingly, there is a suggestion if you look closely at the money market rates that the base rate may well have reached its peak already.

"It's a possibility, but we will have to wait and see," he added.

But a spokesman for Bournemouth-based Portman Building Society said: "The housing market slowdown has helped keep interest rates on hold but further rises in the next few months are inevitable.

"This respite will be welcomed by borrowers but poses uncertainty for (property) sellers and landlords as the sector continues to cool."

Economists had predicted that rates would remain on hold yesterday after a string of surveys and official data pointed to a slowdown in consumer spending and a possible end to the house price boom.

Banks approved 20 per cent fewer mortgages in July, while the Halifax said house prices fell by 0.6 per cent last month, the first decline for two years.

First published: Sept 10