Mortgage Price War – How long will it last?

Property Consultant Tony Freeman looks at the UK’s mortgage market as providers go head-to-head with exceptionally low deals but when will it all come to an end?

As the spring property market gathers pace and leaps into action, mortgage companies are stepping up the competition in a bid to secure customers and entice them with their latest offers.

Mortgage interest rates on two, five and ten year fixed deals have fallen following a surge in late 2015, when Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, made comments suggesting that a rate rise was imminent.

Now, the high street lenders are all vying for your attention and claiming to offer the best deals. Tony Freeman suggests that it is worth being cautious as often it’s the most amazing deals that turn out to be too good to be true when you’ve read through the small print.

The Yorkshire Building Society, the UK’s second largest mutual, has recently launched a mortgage at a rate of 0.89%. They’ve explained they are able to offer the low deal because of lending rates, however, when reading the small print a large deposit is required and small mortgages are often rejected as the lifetime and therefore benefit to the loan company isn’t as great as a larger loan would be.

There may often be a high arrangement fee offset against the low interest rate and there is often quite a jump in rate from the agreed rate to the APR, unless a new mortgage deal is arranged in advance, with an equally favourable rate.

It’s wise to shop around, do your homework and seek professional advice before signing up to a financial deal.