The vast majority of mortgage borrowers who’ve had a choice are on fixed rate deals these days. If you fixed while rates were still low, a crunch point will loom, probably sooner rather than later. And those who for years felt pretty comfortable (often a tad smug) with tracker rates, which meant they paid a little more or less than the bank base rate will be weighing the pros and cons of jumping ship. If you move to a new fixed rate now, will that protect you from further rises or mean you lose out if and when rates fall? And should you fix for 2, 3 or 5 years? Will that tracker rate still prove to be the best bet? Truth is, we can only work on a ‘best bet’ basis. In my experience, if you are on a fixed rate, you’ll usually pay more than you need to then less than the going rate for parts of the term, and there are few winners or losers; so just take the plunge. One thing’s for sure. We can’t keep blaming Liz Truss for it all.
“Brokers deem Johnson’s housing benefits pledge irresponsible”
One self-inflicted blow to the housing shortage was the decision to change the system of housing benefit payments some years ago. Instead of paying private landlords direct, it was paid to tenants and left to them to pay their rent.
