Fixed Rates
Interest rate cuts do not stop lenders from hiking up borrowing rates
A recent report has shown that the recent base rate cuts applied by the Bank of England have done nothing to stop some lenders from hiking up their borrowing costs and interest rates, which means that many consumers are still having to pay through the nose for their borrowing despite the three base rate cuts since December. In the last few months the Bank of England has cut the base rate from 5.75% to 5% with three 0.25% rate cuts.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Household finances hit by a number of rises
Since August 2006 things have gone from bad to worse for many households, with interest rates rising five times between August 2006 and July 2007, each time by 0.25%. This saw the base rate soar to 5.75% from 4.5% in this period, and many homeowners on variable rate mortgages struggled to find the money to meet their rapidly rising repayments, which in turn affected consumer confidence and had a knock on effect on the economy.
Popularity: 31% [?]
Experts give their views on interest rates
In December of last year the Bank of England cut interest rates by 0.25%, which was the first rate cut in two years, and came after a series of five 0.25% hikes between August 2006 and July 2007. Earlier this month the Bank of England cut interest rates by a further 0.25% taking the base rate to 5.25%, which came as a relief to many struggling homeowners on variable rate mortgages.
Popularity: 43% [?]
Bank of England will not follow suit following Fed rate cuts
The US Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates considerably over the past couple of weeks, taking them down the first time by 0.75% amidst fears of a recession, and then reducing them further to 3%. The move resulted in many homeowners in the United States flocking to try and refinance to a lower rate deal whilst rates were at such as low.
Popularity: 53% [?]
Average property prices plummeted in three months
According to a recent report the average UK property value plummeted between October of last year and January of this year, with around £11,000 being shaved off the average property value. The reports show that this has seen some properties fall in value by over £100 per day, and according to some industry officials things are going to continue getting worse for homeowners when it comes to falling property prices.
Popularity: 56% [?]
Mortgage broker makes predictions for house prices and interest rates in 2008
Industry officials from the mortgage broker John Charcol have been making predictions with regards to house price movement and interest rate movement for the coming year. Many industry professionals have been speculating over how house prices will perform and what the Bank of England will do with interest rates over the course of the year, with the general consensus being that house prices will stagnate or fall slightly and the Bank of England will cut interest rates two or three times over the course of the year, taking both economic slowdown and rising inflation into account.
Popularity: 100% [?]
Complaints over mortgage charges soar
A recent report has shown that over the past twelve months the level of consumer complaints relating to mortgage costs and charges have soared, reflecting the improvement that lenders need to make to their services.
Over the past year there has been a significant rise in complaints relating to cost and charge issues, and this includes administration charges, exit fees, charges on arrears, and broker charges for setting up or arranging a mortgage for a consumer.
Popularity: 32% [?]