Mortgage rates 'could go up'

Date:Friday 19th September 2008
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Mortgage rates appear set to increase due to volatility in the global economy, it has been reported.

Experts at mortgage website mform.co.uk that rates on longer term, fixed-rate deals are increasing, with two and three-year deals likely to follow suit.

The interbank lending rate has increased by one per cent, which will have a knock-on effect on homeowners and buyers.

Eamonn Rice, chief executive of mform.co.uk, said: "Just when it looked like there was light at the end of the tunnel for the mortgage market we are now heading back to a period of rising rates."

In related news, FirstrungNow, which helps first-time buyers to secure properties, recently called for a "super-tax" on one and two bedroom homes to discourage investor landlords.

Managing director Helen Adams said the properties should be left for first-time buyers.

She also called for the abolition of stamp duty for such buyers, saying that the current suspension of it for houses under £175,000 "doesn't really help that many people".