LONDON (MNI) – A raft of UK mortgage rates either nudged higher or
held steady in March, with only the odd one declining, according to the
latest Bank of England data.
The BOE’s “quoted rates” survey captures a wide spectrum of
mortgage deals. The data show some mortgage rates climbing despite no
change in the central bank’s own Bank Rate.
Tracker mortgages, which are linked to the central bank rate,
rose to an average 3.77% in March from 3.7% in February, despite the
Bank Rate holding steady at 0.5%.
The average sterling two-year 75% loan-to-value fixed rate
mortgage rose to 3.92% in March from 3.88% in February.
Other mortgage rates held steady, with the sterling three-year 75%
loan-to-value mortgage unchanged at 4.68% in March and its five-year
counterpart unchanged at 5.5%.
The sterling two-year 75% loan-to-value discounted rate mortgage
fell very slightly in March, to an average 3.0% from 3.01% in February,
while the average standard variable rate mortgage was unchanged at
4.05%.
The BOE survey shows that the high loan-to-value mortgages
available before the credit crunch have not come back on to the market.
The survey showed no average rates for the 95% loan-to-value mortgages
that were available up until early 2008.
There is mounting evidence that the recovery in the UK housing
market is cooling, with the RICS property surveyors survey published
overnight showing a marked decline in the number of surveyors seeing
rising property prices.
–London newsroom: 4420 7634 1624; email: drobinson@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$B$$$,M$$BE$,MT$$$$]
