#Business

Mortgage costs rise as banks confirm higher rates


Barclays said it had increased “most, but not all rates” this week. The rate for a two-year fixed deal with a maximum loan of Ā£570,000 is up to 5.76% from 5.66% last week, while the equivalent five-year fixed rate is up to 5.00% from 4.90%.

Leeds Building Society also upped its rates for some products. Two-year and five-year fixed rates rose from 4.39% to 4.54% and 4.54% to 4.69%.

According to financial information company Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed mortgage rate was 5.83% on Tuesday, up slightly from 5.82% the day before, while the average five-year rate was unchanged at 5.40%.

Tom Bill from agency Knight Frank predicted it will be a long time before homeowners have access to mortgage rates below 4%.

ā€œThe prospect of a five-year fixed-rate mortgage starting with a three anytime soon is pretty remote,ā€ he said.

He added ā€œmixed signalsā€ on price movements within the economy were making the Bank on Englandā€™s interest rate decisions difficult.

Expectations about the future direction of the Bank’s benchmark rate have a major influence on the mortgage rates offered by High Street banks.

The Bank’s key rate currently stands at 5.25% and earlier this year analysts had expected to see it being cut from June.

However, inflation – the rate at which prices rise – has not been falling as fast as expected, leading some to push back their forecasts of when the Bank will take action.



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