A glimmer of hope for ‘homeowner prisoners’

Published: 13/06/2011

With June’s Mortgage Market Review (MMR) imminent, The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has been encouraged to ‘‘hold their nerve’’ by the British Chamber of Commerce’s chief economist¹.

Interest rates have remained unchanged for over two years, and should the verdict come back against a rise, it will reach its 27th month at 0.5% despite previous ‘red alert’ warnings that they were poised to ‘grow in spring’. Some economists are now predicting a rise in August at the earliest, while others believe it will be pushed back until November, or even early 2012.

This would be great news for homeowners and the remortgage industry.

Due to the drastic dip in house prices, many homeowners, who bought their property in the credit boom of 2005 – 2008, and put down less than a 20% deposit, now find themselves in negative equity and struggling to remortgage.

By leaving the standard interest rate untouched for another month gives such homeowners a better chance of securing a lower rate remortgage deal.

Our silver lining

In these cloudy times, we always like to offer as much of a silver lining as possible, so following the launch of the Woolwich’s Great Escape product, we’re proud to offer our brokers £150 cashback when instructing us on this remortgage deal.

While experts don’t foresee a rise until August, it’s good to know we provide a quick and efficient service with our 7-day remortgage guarantee should a curve ball be thrown.

Source
¹Remortgage News (June 2011)

Content correct at time of publication