As expected, the Bank of England have again raised the base rate of interest today by 0.5%, it is now 3.5%. This increase has been expected as they continue to try and bring inflation under control. In terms of mortgage rates, if you are on a variable rate mortgage, this will mean an increase in your payments again, your lender will write to you to let you know what your new monthly payment will be. If you are currently on a fixed rate, then you will not see any change now.
For new mortgages, the good news is that mortgage lenders and the finance markets have expected these increases and have “built in” rate rises into the new mortgage deals they have been offering for a while now. In fact, we have seen the interest rates available for fixed rate mortgages reducing over recent weeks, with almost every lender dropping their rates in the last two weeks. We have been getting emails daily from lenders to advise us of new, lower rate deals becoming available.
This is because the forecast for how high the base rates will rise have reduced recently as economists are predicting that rates should peak during 2023 and then start to come back down towards the end of next year or into 2024. Of course, these are only predictions and there are never guarantees as to what the future may hold.
The most important thing is to not panic about rates increasing and please get in touch with any member of our team if you have any questions or concerns.
Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Equity released from your home will be secured against it.