One in ten borrowers to escape mortgage crisis

More than one in 10 borrowers in Britain, around 1.6m, are locked into five-year fixed mortgages taken out during the pandemic property boom, meaning they could escape the mortgage crisis unscathed. They are not due to refinance until 2025 or after, when analysts now expect interest rates will have reverted to far more manageable levels. Analysis shows that more than 75,000 borrowers are also signed up to fixed interest periods of more than five years. In addition, more than half of homeowners in Britain do not have a mortgage, which provides another layer of protection for the housing market from distressed sales caused by high borrowing costs. David Hollingworth, associate director at L&C Mortgages, said: “The rates have shot up because there is something of a lag period. The big benefit of that is as rates have risen rapidly many [borrowers] have been protected from those increases. There's a lot who will be coming towards the end of their fixed rate. The most unfortunate ones would have already come to that point and had to refinance".

The Daily Telegraph (10/01/2024)