Homeowners 'increasingly seeking fixed-rate mortgages'

Date:Monday 23rd March 2009
Author: Max Freedman

Homeowners in the UK are increasingly seeking fixed-rate home loans, it has been found.

Figures produced by Legal & General suggest that 72 per cent of residential borrowers using its Mortgage Club have chosen a fixed-rate mortgage so far this year.

This compares with 65 per cent in the last quarter of 2008.

Meanwhile, 68 per cent of buy-to-let borrowers chose a fixed-rate home loan, compared with 43 per cent during the last three months of 2008.

Stephen Smith, director of housing at Legal & General, commented: "Since we started producing these reports in early 2008, the popularity of fixed rates has swung wildly."

He added that fixed-rate pricing has only really begun to come down over the last few months.

Last week, Birmingham Midshires released figures which suggested that nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of savers aged between 25 and 34 are currently saving money for a mortgage deposit.