First-time buyers may be shunning fixed rates

16-Dec-2009

First-time buyers looking for a suitable mortgage have been warned to take "whole of market advice" after it emerged that fewer borrowers were taking advantage of fixed-rate deals.

According to research by Mortgageforce, this type of product only accounted for 29 per cent of all the purchases and remortgages made last month.

Katie Tucker is technical manager for the company and said that while variable rates were often a wise move for certain house buyers, consumers need to think long-term.

"A tracker is not for you if you suspect you're not disciplined enough to overpay in the short-term while your contracted payments are low," she explained, referring to the possibility of the Bank of England base rate increasing in the coming year.

Currently, it stands at 0.5 per cent, meaning those on tracker arrangements may be paying a lot less than they might if it goes up.

First-time buyers could do well by keeping a close eye on the figure, as it is decided every month by the Monetary Policy Committee.

How to buy a house from finding your first property, first time buyer mortgages, mortgage advice, shared equity, shared ownership, joint ownership, part buy part rent and HomeBuy. All a first time buyer could need as well as first time buyer news at FirstRungNow.com.

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