Mortgage rates
Just under a third of households have a mortgage, according to the government’s English Housing Survey, external.
More than half a million homeowners have a mortgage that “tracks” the Bank of England’s rate.
But more than eight in 10 mortgage customers have fixed-rate deals. While their monthly payments aren’t immediately affected, future deals are.
Mortgage rates are much higher than they have been for much of the past decade, with the average two-year fixed rate now at 5.47%, according to the financial information service Moneyfacts.
Mortgage lenders have been in intense competition for customers and have dropped their rates. But homebuyers and those remortgaging are still having to pay a lot more than if they had borrowed the same amount a few years ago.
About 1.6 million mortgage deals are expiring in 2024, according to banking trade body UK Finance.
You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator: