Consumers 'increasingly seeking longer-term mortgages'

Date:Friday 29th May 2009
Author: Max Freedman

The popularity of longer-term fixed-rate mortgages has risen among UK consumers recently.

This is the claim of national brokers Mortgageforce, which said that 56 per cent of fixed-rate deals it has been involved in so far this month have been for a term of three years or longer.

Commenting on the issue, technical manager at the firm Katie Tucker said: "Two-year fixes were always the favourite, or trackers when bank rate is widely expected to fall, but this rush to commit long-term shows that consumer attitude has turned a corner."

The expert went on to say that borrowers have been assessing the chances of lenders reducing rates further and many have decided that it is more likely that rates will rise.

Ms Tucker also suggested that people are often willing to pay slightly more for longer-term home loans as they provide them with more security than other products.

Earlier this month, Sharon Bratley, a chartered financial planner at Fairinvestment.co.uk, predicted that interest rates have reached their lowest point, adding they are likely to rise over coming months.