Bank of Scotland mortgages reports decline in costs

Date:Tuesday 29th June 2010
Author: Susanna Kavka

Bank of Scotland mortgages has reported that the price of living in the UK has declined by four per cent in the past two years, with falling housing loan costs stated to be a key factor.

On average, the bank predicts that it now costs households £8,562 to live north of the border each year, a decline of £388 from April 2008.

With the price of a mortgage in decline due to lower interest rates, this has been suggested as providing a bulk of the reductions.

It is now 19 per cent cheaper to pay off a mortgage than in 2008, equating to a fall in payments of £735, taking both interest and capital transactions into account.

Between April 2008 and the same month in 2010, the average rate paid fell by 2.13 percentage points, from 5.8 per cent to 3.67 per cent.

A similar report from Halifax also noted a decline in costs across the country, with the institution finding an average drop of six per cent.