First-time buyers need to seek "balance"

19-Mar-2008

An expert has suggested that first-time buyers ought to seek a "balance" between "flexibility and certainty" when choosing their mortgage.

Sue Anderson, a spokesperson for the Council of Mortgage Lenders, said that there has been a "greater appetite" for tracker mortgages in recent months.

Usually first-time buyers are attracted to fixed-rate mortgages, but current economic conditions have prompted many to seek tracker-rates in order to take advantage of falling interest rates.

"People need to recognise their own attitude to risk and the risk of rates moving either in their favour or against them, and the extent to which they want absolute certainty about their level of outgoings," she advised.

In February, the council reported that fewer people chose fixed-rate products than in previous months.

According to the organisation, fixed-rate mortgage products accounted for 67 per cent of loans taken out in January, compared with 77 per cent in June - July 2007.

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