In a recent poll by Reuters, housing market experts forecasted that house prices will increase and do so as rental costs rise higher. Housing overall will become more expensive, however it is expected that first time homebuyers will still have a chance in the market. Higher rental costs will make it difficult for buyers to save for their deposit, so lower interest rates will need to make the difference in affordability. 

There is always the question of whether a homeowner should remortgage now or wait. The answer is a unique one that cannot be answered easily. The decision depends on what the current financial needs of the homeowner are as well as the current economic situation. Of course, economic forecasts for the near future have an influence on the choice. Unfortunately for some homeowners, what is so obvious now as to whether to get a new deal or wait, was less obvious a month ago and the outcome could have been costly.

There are some homeowners that have the opportunity to start 2025 with savings in their household budget. Those that have come to the end of their mortgage term and were moved to the lender’s standard variable rate (SVR) are likely to find substantial savings through one simple process and it’s so easy to discover how much savings. The process to begin saving money is simply to shop online for a remortgage. A few minutes online at the website of a remortgage broker to obtain quotes will provide a wealth of information important to the homeowner.

House prices have remained elevated after the buying boom created by the pandemic. There was a need for more space to accommodate lockdowns while working and studying from home. However, the major factor behind the buying frenzy was the low cost of borrowing. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had lowered the standard base interest rate to almost zero at 0.1%. Lenders then offered their own historical low rates. Borrowing was so cheap it offered an open door to those that had been struggling to get onto the property ladder and in homes that would have had to wait for an upgrade rather than as a first-time home buyer’s property. Sadly, those interest rates are long gone and now an old trend is back helping renters abandon high fees and buy their first home.

Homeowners are likely questioning whether to remortgage now or wait till next year when interest rates might be lower. The hope is to figure out which choice would offer the opportunity to secure a lower interest rate remortgage and save money. The answer is hard for some homeowners since rates now or next year would be higher than they have been paying. For instance, a homeowner may currently have a fixed rate that is lower than current rates and even lower than forecasted rates for next year. Also, forecasts are not always reliable and there is the possibility that the greater savings is choosing a deal now rather than waiting. For the homeowners coming to the end of their mortgage term with a lower rate than could be found with today’s rates, this has been an issue since 2022 for homeowners.

For the second time this year, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to reduce the standard base interest rate by 0.25% to 4.75%. The previous 5.0% base rate was from the first majority vote by the MPC to reduce the base rate of 5.25% to 5.0%. The reduction decision came in August, remained steady through September and with no scheduled meeting in October stayed at 5.0%. The two rate cuts for 2024 are a welcomed decision for borrowers as there had not been a reduction to the base rate since March 2020 when the MPC voted an historical low of 0.1% during the pandemic.