HOMEOWNERS enjoying a welcome break after four base-rate rises in eight months are in line for more good news.
Falling swap rates — the money-market rates that determine fixed-rate pricing — have led lenders to cut the cost of fixed loans. Stroud & Swindon Building Society has launched a two-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.79 per cent. Those with a home valued at less than £250,000 will pay £494 in arrangement fees. The fee rises to £594 for properties worth more than £250,000.
The two-year fix from Derbyshire Building Society charges interest at 4.8 per cent, while Yorkshire Building Society offers a three-year deal at 5.1 per cent for those moving house and 5.15 per cent for homeowners who want to remortgage.
Britannia Building Society has cut the rate on its ten-year fix by a tenth of a percentage point to 5.49 per cent.
But is this a good time to fix? David Hollingworth, of London & Country, the mortgage broker, thinks so. He says: “Hanging around on a gamble for a cheaper rate may not pay off, particularly for homeowners on an expensive standard variable rate.”
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Simon Tyler, of Chase De Vere Mortgage Management, another broker, agrees. “There will almost certainly be another interest rate rise this year,” he says. “The cheap fixed rates launched in the past few days should be snapped up because they will not be around for long.”
GRAINNE GILMORE