Spring is upon us

Maybe it’s because Barlow Irvin’s Founder and Director, Gary Oxborough is getting older, but time seems to be going quicker than ever in 2023. With the end of the first quarter of the year just days away, hopefully spring will bring us some drier, warmer weather.

Spring also traditionally sees more people thinking about buying a new property. Whether it’s buying a first home or moving up the property ladder, this time of year is always a busy one in the housing market. Despite tales of doom and gloom in the media, this year appears to be no different. The mortgage market is very buoyant at the moment, with lenders starting to fight for market share, which usually means rates dropping.

The overall outlook for the economy seems to be brighter, with predictions of inflation continuing to come back down throughout the rest of the year, which should mean that interest rates stabilise. The Bank of England is due to announce its latest decision on interest rates this Thursday, and many experts are predicting that the base rate will remain at its current level of 4%. We can only wait and see, but as we’ve discussed in the past, any change in the base rate at the moment, won’t have an immediate impact on the fixed rate mortgages available, as these are based on “swap rates” which try and predict the future direction of interest rates. These are continuing to reduce at the moment, which will feed into the fixed rate mortgages available.

If you have any mortgages or finance questions, please get in touch and our award-winning team, they’ll be more than happy to help.

As a mortgage is secured against your home or property, it could be repossessed if you do not keep up mortgage repayments