The Bank of England has announced that interest rates will stay at their current level of 5.75 per cent.

Experts had predicted the Bank would not increase rates again after recent figures showed that inflation had fallen below the two per cent target it had set.

In a statement accompanying the decision, the Bank said inflation "may remain around, or a little below, the two per cent target for the next few months".

Stewart Lilly, president of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: "It will be beneficial to have this period of stability to help the market adjust to the changes that are taking place at present."

"We urge the Bank of England to continue to hold interest rates for the foreseeable future," he added.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, predicted that the "knock-on effects" of recent economic turmoil on international financial markets are yet to be fully seen but commented that the housing market had displayed "considerable resilience over the past month".