Homeowners 'should consider fixed-rate mortgages'

Date:Wednesday 13th May 2009
Author: Max Freedman

Homeowners in the UK should consider securing fixed-rate mortgages, an expert has said.

Commenting on the issue, Melanie Bien, director of Savills Private Finance, said that mortgage lenders will begin raising the rates they charge on such products over the coming months, the Times reports.

She made her comments in the wake of a move made by the Royal Bank of Scotland, which increased the rates it charges on some of its fixed-rate home loans recently.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire Building Society is raising the rates on some of its products and Britannia is expected to follow suit.

Ms Bien stated: "It is clear that the market has bottomed out and these announcements suggest that rates on longer-term deals are now on the up. It is almost certain that other lenders will follow suit."

Her advice concurs with that given recently by Alliance & Leicester Mortgages director Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, who suggested that people should lock into fixed-rate deals as the interest charged on such products tends to rise before the base rate does.