Mortgage rates
Just under a third of households have a mortgage, according to the government’s English Housing Survey, external.
About 600,000 homeowners have a mortgage that “tracks” the Bank of England’s rate, so a base rate cut immediately leads to lower monthly repayments.
But more than eight in 10 mortgage customers have fixed-rate deals. While their monthly payments aren’t immediately affected, future deals are.
Mortgage rates are still much higher than they have been for much of the past decade. The average two-year fixed mortgage rate is 5.42%, according to financial information company Moneyfacts. A five-year deal is 5.13%. It means many homebuyers and those remortgaging are having to pay a lot more than if they had borrowed the same amount a few years ago.
About 800,000 fixed-rate mortgages, currently with an interest rate of 3% or below, are expected to expire every year, on average, until the end of 2027.
A base rate cut may see relatively little impact on pricing of fixed-rate mortgages in the short-term. The outlook is complicated at the moment as the markets, and lenders, consider the impact of the Budget and global events.
You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator:
