At the start of August 2019, the UK housing market was at its weakest point since the global financial crisis a decade ago. It seems that there is a level of uncertainty in the market, due in some part to people waiting to see what is going to happen with Brexit.
Predictions that property values could be affected are also making buyers wait. Either way, it’s bad news for sellers.
However, despite the slow market, there are still some benefits to the housing market at the moment, especially the low base rate of interest. This means it’s still potentially a good time to move home or, in particular, a good time to consider re-mortgaging.
Why fix your mortgage rate?
Mortgage rates affect the cost of a mortgage, and rates are so low at the moment that there is a good chance you can switch to a good, long-term deal that could save you a lot of money on your mortgage and monthly household outgoings.
Once the fixed period expires then the rate will convert to the lender’s Standard Variable Rate or another fixed rate if possible. When paying the Standard Variable Rate consumers are more vulnerable to interest rate rises. Mortgage lenders have a limited number of availability of mortgage deals, so if you want to avoid your monthly repayments rising you should take action.
Is now the right time?
In short yes, there has probably never been a better time to fix your mortgage rate and you should consider fixing it now. Interest rates are likely to rise further in the next two years, the Bank of England has already raised rates back to 0.75% and is planning a further two rate hikes in the following few years.
The Bank of England Term Funding Scheme (TFS) has also come to an end, the TFC provided building societies and banks with access to low- cost funding which allowed low mortgage rates. At this point, we believe consumers could get the best fixed-rate mortgage deals before interest rates are changed again.
However, although mortgage rates are surprisingly attractive at the moment this can change when consumers find out of a potential rate rise and all hurry at the same time to fix their mortgages. If you are considering fixing your mortgage rate but are unsure and need more details please contact us today!
For details of our competitive prices please see here.
