Mortgage holders gambling on rate fall

Mortgage holders who have come to the end of their deal recently have faced a tough choice: lock in to a more expensive fix or wait it out on a variable rate in the hope that the Bank of England's base rate will fall. A growing number of borrowers are choosing to gamble, and some are now paying variable interest rates of up to 8.85%. “The rationale seems to be that borrowers will move to a fixed rate in a few months because they hope that fixed rates will start to reduce,” said Charles Roe from UK Finance. “Taking a punt on Bank rate falling later this year is not for the faint-hearted if you are paying the lender's standard variable rate,” said Graham Cox from the Bristol-based broker Self Employed Mortgage Hub.“Inflation could fall sharply, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the Bank rate will.” 

The Times (11/04/2023)