The financial cost of Liz Truss’ disastrous 2022 Mini Budget and the increased mortgage rates that came in its wake has been laid bare today thanks to new data revealing that Londoners are paying an average of £7,500 more a year for their mortgages. The research, undertaken by Zoopla, looked at 70 per cent Loan To Value mortgages with a 30-year term and found that average repayments in March 2024 were £23,110, compared to £15,580 in March 2021. The corresponding interest rates were 4.5 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively. Nationally, mortgages have risen from £7,100 to £11,400, a change of £4,320. While having a mortgage has become increasingly expensive, house prices in the capital and surrounding areas have stagnated or reduced, making building up equity even more difficult for homeowners. In March 2024, the average property price in London was £535,700, a decrease of 0.7 per cent year-on-year. Further afield, 95-100 per cent of homes for sale across southern England (including London) are in local markets with annual price falls. Higher mortgage rates have been cited as the reason for these decreases and London properties, typically the most expensive in the country, have been hardest hit as they...