Mortgages London | Mortgages in London

Posts Tagged ‘Mortgage Rates in London Fall’

It’s official, mortgage rates in London are dropping, and with a two year stamp-duty holiday for first time buyers in place, it looks like applications for mortgages on properties worth up to £250,000 will increase. The largest fall in rates has been on short-term agreements. February figures sat at 3.83%, a small but significant reduction from January’s 3.90%, but it is a trend that has been constant since August 2099 when mortgage rates were 4.34%.

Last week, the chancellor announced that there would be a stamp-duty cut off point at £250,000 for first time buyers. This is particularly good news for first time buyers in London, where this budget would be sufficient to purchase a family home. Research shows that there are 3 bedroom terraced houses that can be purchased for this sum in the SE area. Admittedly these properties are in need of modernisation, but at least their purchase is a possibility for first time buyers.

If renovation isn’t quite up your street, then investing in a property in East London might be more appealing. Houses here are available for £250,000, and they have been recently refurbished, offering fist-time buyers an opportunity to buy a family home. It is estimated that 9 out of 10 buyers will be able to take advantage of a stamp-duty holiday that helped around 260,000 homebuyers purchase properties back in 2008.

It is hoped that with falling mortgage rates London residents will be able to make somewhere in their own city their home. It is a sad truth that many people who have grown up in London, and are Londoners at heart find it hard to get on the property ladder in the borough where they were born. With the housing market improving, and property prices beginning to slowly rise, this is an ideal time to make a purchase and invest in the future.

To take full advantage of the low mortgage rates available art the moment, it is advised that borrowers choose a mortgage that is fix rate to help with long term financial planning. This results in fewer instances of arrears, and therefore less repossessions. It has been realised that to help both the housing market and the economy recover, mortgages need to be both accessible and affordable.

The advantage of choosing a fixed rate mortgage at present is that terms can be over one, three or five years, which protects you from interest rate rises during that time. On flip side the disadvantage could be continued decrease in mortgages rates which won’t benefit anyone with a fixed term mortgage until their initial fixed term comes to an end.