The Bank of England (BoE) has continued to keep UK base rates on hold at 0.5% for the 14th consecutive month since March 2009 and has not made any changes to the £200bn Quantitative Easing (QE) programme either.

James Thomas, head of residential development and investment at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: "In a market gripped by the closest fought election in recent memory, the housing industry will welcome the stability of the base rate being held at 0.5% for the 14th consecutive month. While the outlook for the UK economy is improving it would be far too early to contemplate raising interest rates, and as a consequence, risk derailing the housing market recovery.

"Statistics from the Bank of England this month show a +2.9% rise in mortgage approvals, allied to a +4% rise in the British Bankers Association measure of new mortgage lending. This illustrates that consumers are starting to demand more credit, lending however remains historically low. During this phase of election uncertainty the market will respond well to the consistency of the Bank of England decision."

The BoE noted in the April’s minutes that the economic recovery in continental Europe is still at risk as the European Central Bank has formulated a rescue package in order to allay fears over the sovereign creditworthiness of certain members of the Euro-zone.