Update on The Mortgage Market
When the credit crunch began about a year ago interest rates andarrangement fees went up as lenders increased their margins. This wasnot just down to greed but because the banks no longer trusted eachother so the rates (LIBOR, SWAP) at which banks lend to each otherincreased which was passed on to the mortgage customer.
Over the last few weeks there appeared to be light at the end of thetunnel with lenders starting to cut rates as LIBOR rates had improved.After the recent events (Lehmann Brothers, HBOS) LIBOR rates haveincreased again, although this has not yet been reflected in mortgagerates.
The mortgage market continues to be volatile and it is not possibleto predict if rates will rise imminently or what will happen over thenext few months. Central banks put £100 billion into the globalfinancial system last week hoping that this will improve interest ratesand "free-up" the market however there is always the chance that theremay be another problem just around the corner.
So, as of today, there are still some competitive deals to be had -the lower the loan to value the more attractive the terms. If you dorequire mortgage or remortgage advice it is even more important thanever that you obtain independent mortgage advice.