If you are dithering, now is the time to act! It’s time for a quick decision, today is the day!

 

It looks like mortgage rates are on the increase. Scottish Widows, Halifax and NatWest have all announced they are withdrawing rates this week and new products will have higher rates.

If you are already on a fixed rate, give yourself a pat on the back, if you are in the process of applying for a fixed rate – you’ve done well, if you are sitting on your lender’s standard variable rate…. you need to do something. TODAY!

It was back in March 2009 that the Bank of England’s Monitory Policy Committee (MPC) voted to decrease the base rate to the all-time low of 0.5%. Following the Brexit vote in the summer of 2016, the MPC reduced the rate further to 0.25% , in order to stabilise the economy

I’m not sure if it’s the predicted inflation, Theresa May’s Tory Conference Speech or the progress with Brexit negotiations, but lenders are starting to edge their interest rates up a couple of blips. It could of course just be that they have had enough of not really making any money out of borrowers who are paying a meagre 1.2% interest.

Despite economic forecasters predicting rate increases every other month for the last 6 years, nothing has happened with the bank of England base rate. Last month, 2 out of 9 members of the MPC voted for an increase. The latest talk is of an increase by the end of the year. Who know when it’s coming, but we seem to have seen the start.

Today is the day.

Recent posts

A recent study by Boon Brokers where 1,000 people who had used an estate agent over the last year were surveyed, showed that a whopping 52% said they were pressured into using the estate agents’ in-house mortgage broker.

Analysts are predicting further rate cuts this year, with the next one possibly coming down to 4% when the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meet on Thursday 7th August 2025.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has shared new changes to mortgage rules with the aim to simplify remortgaging, and encourage competition within the mortgage market.

Lloyds Banking Group has jumped on the bandwagon to boost lending for first-time buyers as they allocate an additional £4 billion to help first-time buyers on to the property ladder.

As the Loan to Income (LTI) cap has been increased to 5.5 times income, applicants who fit the First Time Buyer Boost criteria could borrow up to 22% more. 

The government is introducing mortgage reforms to boost homeownership, stimulate economic growth, and make the housing market more accessible, especially for first-time buyers.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced the most significant mortgage reforms in over a decade—great news for those dreaming of homeownership.

Nationwide ease their ‘Helping Hand’ mortgage designed to help first-time buyers get onto the property ladder by allowing them to borrow up to six times their income.

 

Keeping the kids entertained over the six-week summer holidays isn’t always easy, especially with the cost-of-living making it even more difficult. Below is a list of fun, inexpensive ideas to do over the break

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a discussion paper about the future of the mortgage market in a bid to improve access for first -time buyers, self-employed, and those borrowing in retirement.