Now that the Bank Rate has risen to 0.75pc, if lenders immediately pass the increase onto mortgage borrowers, the monthly costs would rise to just over 43pc of their disposable income. Lenders would, however, be likely to absorb some of the rise.

But interest rates will keep on rising. If the Bank Rate hit 1.5pc, and the increase was passed entirely to borrowers, the share would hit 45pc. Both scenarios mean homes would be less affordable than any point since 2008.

The role of growing house prices

The last time mortgages were so expensive, homes were cheaper in relation to earnings. In the last three months of 2008, the average house cost 6.3 times average earnings. Today, it is 7.4 times.

Record house price growth in the wake of the pandemic has meant the value of homes is more out of kilter with wages than at any other time in the past 14 years. Normally, this would limit house prices but record low mortgage rates have boosted the market. In real terms, homes have been exceptionally cheap to buy.

Yet if rates rise significantly, buyers will no longer be shielded from reality, and buying power would evaporate.