Beverley homeowners looking for a new mortgage deal are being dealt a mixed hand by the country’s mortgage lenders.
As speculation continues over what will happen to interest rates over the next few months or years, mortgage lenders are taking a mainly cautious approach to the deals they will offer.
Anyone looking to buy a house or secure a mortgage for their home in Beverley will know just how difficult is seems to make the right decision – do you try to take advantage of low interest rates now, or try to secure yourself against possible inflation rate hikes?
It’s quite clear which way some of the bigger lenders are leaning, as the cost of a tracker mortgage decreases while fixed-rate deals become more expensive According to figures from financial information group Moneyfacts.co.uk, the average cost of a two-year tracker mortgage for borrowers in Beverley has fallen to just 3.4 per cent, the lowest figures since 1988.
Many of the big players in the mortgage game – including Santander, Nationwide and Northern Rock – are leading the way in lower tracker mortages, which indicates they expect interest rates to rise over coming months.
Consequently, the cost of trying to insure yourself against interest rates rising is increasing.
The average cost of a two-year fixed mortgage in Beverley is now at a 10-month high of 4.9 per cent, although this does not seem to have deterred many borrowers who fear interest rate hikes as the best deals remain on the market for an average of 14 days compared to 28 days just 12 months ago.
Michelle Slade, spokeswoman for Moneyfacts.co.uk, explained that extra fears about increasing interest rates had caused more and more people to consider changing their mortgages, with 27.6 per cent more visitors to the website looking at new mortgage deals.
She said: “Some borrowers have taken a wait and see approach over the last two years, preferring to remain on a lender’s standard variable rate rather than move to a more expensive mortgage deal.”
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