Rate cuts may not prove of benefit to many homeowners

With the aggressive rate cuts that have been applied to the base interest rate by the Bank of England over recent months homeowners on variable rate interest deals should in theory be delighted. Since last November the base interest rate has plummeted by nearly two thirds, plunging from 5.75 percent to just 2 percent. It now stands at its lowest levels in nearly six decades, and many think that it will fall further over the next couple of months. Read more

Tags: home insurance, future rates cuts, base rate cut, Mortgages, variable rate, homeowners, bank of england, Floating interest rate

Is a variable rate mortgage the right choice for me?

Consumers in the UK can enjoy a choice of mortgage options these days, and no matter what your needs and circumstances there is a good chance that there is a suitable mortgage product on the market for you. When it comes to mortgages consumers can enjoy options such as the standard variable rate, the fixed rate, base tracker mortgages, capped rate mortgages, and more. The most popular of these are the variable rate mortgage and the fixed rate mortgage, both of which offer benefits as well as disadvantages. Read more

Tags: Floating interest rate, variable rate mortgages, interest, Mortgages, Real estate, Business Finance, UK mortgage terminology

Halifax launches new fixed-rate deal

Mortgage provider Halifax made its new 25-year fixed-rate deal available today.

This represents a response from lenders to Gordon Brown’s call for long-term fixed-rate mortgages as a way of alleviating home buyers being priced out of the market. Halifax’s new deal will lock in the holder’s interest rate until 2032.

The provider will be counting on customers gambling on further interest rate rises, as its rate of 6.39 per cent is much higher than the majority of variable rate deals, which are in line with the current base rate of 5.75 per cent.

A spokesman for Halifax said that the new mortgage “means homeowners can balance the security of a fixed interest rate with a range of flexible features built into the product”.

The provider added that it hoped to “radically change the consumer’s view of longer-term products”.

The Bank of England decided today to leave the base rate as it is for this month.

It has risen five times since last August, however, and most industry analysts predict further rises before the year is out.

Tags: Floating interest rate, spokesman, month, response, longer-term products, view, range, consumer