Election & Mortgage Rate Fever!

We laughed during the Scottish Referendum, we cried during the Brexit vote and now, just when you thought it was safe to walk past your local polling station without a second glance, that little booth where you put your crosses is back – and this time it’s personal.

Yes, Theresa May (who I heard someone on the radio describe as a pound-shop Thatcher), has gone and given us all another few weeks of listening to Politicians avoid questions, make up stats and generally make promises they cannot or have no intention of keeping. Is it too much to hope for that we do not see another bus emblazoned with more outlandish statements?

Election fever will at least be mercifully brief, but is actually a good thing and a wise move from the PM. It should give us more security after the result and hopefully a new, strong and proper opposition will emerge out of the inevitable fall out of Labours travails. The question is will a resurgent Liberal Democrats be that party?

The main topic will be Brexit and it is a chance for many to cast their vote tactically with that in mind. For me it means that a soft Brexit is more likely and the UK will seem like a much more resilient and stable proposition than most of the rest of Europe.

I also don’t believe it will cause another “wait and see” moment for clients. With everyone expecting a comfortable Tory win, the result and stability that will ensue means that the economy, good will and property prices are more likely to increase after the election. The IMF have already raised its economic growth forecast for the UK to 2% in 2017 and I think I would rather buy now than after.

This is especially true when you look at interest rates themselves and the offers available. One lender brought out a mind-boggling 0.89% 2 year discounted variable rate last week, whilst fixed rates are still extraordinarily low.

Talk of a “new mortgage rate war”, as the press have been putting it, always has an effect and phones start to ring that bit more whenever this happens. It is something we should all be building on to ensure the public know that the mortgage market is open, competitive and those who automatically think they can’t get a mortgage may well be mistaken as there are now many more options around.

Borrowers are now able to get 2-year variable tracker rates from 1.18% (3.41% APRC), 2 year fixed rates at 1.14% (3.35% APRC) and a 5-year fix from a mere 1.59% (2.99% APRC).

Buy to Let rates are now available from just 1.39% (4.23% APRC).

Comments are closed.