Despite leading economists from across the board predicting only weeks ago that the Bank of England wouldn’t be increasing the base rate until at least 2019, there have been murmurs around a rate rise as soon as November this year.
The predictions of ‘no rate rise’ was music to the ears of anyone coming to the end of their fixed rate term or looking to buy their first home within the next couple of years.
But now, Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England has hinted that because of higher inflation and a pick-up in growth of GBP against the USD that a rate hike could be coming in a matter of months. In an article on the BBC Mark Carney was reported to say “The majority of members of the Monetary Policy Committee, myself included, see that the balancing act is beginning to shift, and that in order to… return inflation to that 2% target in a sustainable manner, there may need to be some adjustment of interest rates in the coming months”.
The base rate, which is what mortgage providers base their product interest rates around, has been at record lows since August 2016. The current base rate is just 0.25%.
What this means for you is that if you’ve been placed on your mortgage lenders variable tariff after your fixed rate expired, or if you are coming to the end of your fixed rate mortgage then you should act quickly to secure a fixed rate now. While rates remain low you can fix your payments and benefit from some huge savings. Equally, as a first-time buyer, you can secure a fixed rate mortgage for a lower price if you manage to complete before the base rate increases.
For expert help and advice in securing the best deal for your circumstance and taking advantage of these low rates then contact a member of our friendly team on 01273 736536 or fill out the contact form for a callback.