Abbey reignites tracker market

herbiesjp

Fixed rates are coming out around that level now though, if not lower - and hopefully more to come

Kez100

I've had a +0.69 BOE collar for years and quite a few times I have looked at jumping onto a fix the fix has been cheaper in % terms (at that point in time).

Obviously at the moment my deal blows everything out of the water but I dare say my exposure will cost me later down the line as it has in the past at times.

You can't really guarantee rates will stay low. I was far more confident in their stability in the past feew years than I am now. If the Government can drop 1.5% over a day then there is no reason if they feel like it that they won't increase it too. I know economic indicators are no showing that at the moment but all the fuel for inflation is being amassed (if thers on MSE are to be believed) and then we may see volatility the other way - who knows?

I think if I found a low fix now I may well jump on for certainty, to be honest.

ukjoel

I think banks will get more competitive to get the business.
At the moment its still very much panic mode and people unsure whats happened or whats going to happen.

Banks will need to lend in order to make money and their big concern is that a repeat of the US housing situation happening here combined with job losses will mean large defaults and them being stuck with worthless properties.

The banks and govt want to see as gentle a fall as possible hence doing all they can to encourage lending and keep the economy ticking over.

Most the nasty surprises seem to have come out now so anticipate some licking of wounds all round and things will start picking up late 2009. Until then expect a 1% a month drop in house prices and interest rates to probably come down another percent.

This is pretty much what was predicted.
The govt heavily underachieved on its housebuilding target for lat 5 years and now the builders have completely stopped.

Sad to say but the minute confidence comes back prices will go silly again - and the only limit will be lenders being slightly more sensible with what they lend ie 3.5 x joint income if u have 10% deposit or 50% on BTL providing rental covers 125% of repayment mortgage.

This means first time buyers earning 35k between them can afford about 130k for a first property which sounds about right to me.

savemoney

Are they any good fixed rate deals. My fixed rate ends in Jan 08(5.29%) and it then reverts to Barclays Base rate plus 1.89% so assuming rates stay same I will be slightly better off. Mortgage provider said BBR is same as BOE base rate

I got a FA coming and I may put them off nearer the time to get a better deal. I think BOE rate may drop further to 2% of course its just a guess

Jonbvn

HSBC are offering BoE+0.99% for 60% LTV. Much better than the Abbey deal and no collar!

MarriedWith2.2

savemoney wrote: »

Are they any good fixed rate deals. My fixed rate ends in Jan 08(5.29%) and it then reverts to Barclays Base rate plus 1.89% so assuming rates stay same I will be slightly better off. Mortgage provider said BBR is same as BOE base rate

I got a FA coming and I may put them off nearer the time to get a better deal. I think BOE rate may drop further to 2% of course its just a guess

HSBC seems to offer the best remortgage rate that I've seen at present - Base Rate + 0.99% so 3.99%. It's a tracker and max 60% LTV. OK so there is a fee of £799 but still worth it in the long run - especially since I'm still on 6.1% with The One Account awaiting their decision. If it's not a 1.5% cut I'm off. Flexibility is great but I'm not prepared to pay an extra 2.1% per month for it.

WestonDave

I think HSBC will be the ones coming out of this very nicely thank you. They were strong enough not to be bullied by Darling last Friday into making a cut they weren't ready to, and can now afford to wait for everyone else to show their hands.

It then seems fairly clear to me that HSBC (and perhaps less successfully Abbey given that they are already 0.9% behind HSBC for effectively the same deal albeit with a lower fee) are going to use their strength to mop up as much of the sub 60% LTV lending as possible in order to minimise exposure to negative equity. That makes a potentially devastating double whammy for some of those already weak - having to cut their rates in full denies them the chance to rebuild their balance sheets through better profit margins and they then see all their better customers gradually drift off to the stronger banks for better rates leaving them with the costs of defaults (which in turn prevents them cutting rates to get in more good business!).

I suspect by the end of this week if you owe less than 60% of the value of your house HSBC and First Direct will be the best deals in town.

Gorgeous_George

Now is the time to find a good long term fixed rate.

Many mortgage advisers were recommending fixed rates when trackers were likely to be better. Now, they'll be advising that trackers are best but, with low base rates, it is likely that fixed rate mortgages are better.

Now is the time to find a FIXED rate folks. Ten years at 5% may be good enough but 4.5%, or a little lower, might be available after Christmas.

GG