Chancellor looks to encourage long-term fixed-rate mortgages
Published On 12 March 2008
In his first Budget as chancellor, Alistair Darling outlined a host of measures to improve the lives of homeowners, including changes to rules about mortgages.Delivering his Budget statement, Mr Darling said that growth in the UK would be between 1.75 per cent and 2.25 per cent this year - down from the estimates of between two and 2.5 per cent that he made in his Pre-Budget Report last October.
During the speech, Mr Darling said that more people should have the option of long-term fixed-rate mortgage deals. He cited a recent report which said that these mortgages can reduce the risks for first-time buyers and keep them on the housing ladder.
John Barker, head of mortgages at Co-operative Financial Services, welcomed the comments.
He said: "We believe that longer-term fixed-rate mortgages are an initiative that should be encouraged and we have found that they can offer a real sense of security to those customers who want to know exactly what their repayments will be each month."
Matthew Carter, Nationwide's mortgage and savings director, added: "We agree with the chancellor that fixed-rate mortgages do bring certainty to homeowners about the cost of their mortgage should base rate increase.
"We wait with interest to see the chancellor's plans to increase stability in the mortgage market. We are supportive of any moves that may help market conditions."
