Homebuyers hit by record mortgage rates

Fixed-term mortgage costs have surged to their highest rates since 2009, according to Moneyfacts. Average rates on a two-year and five-year fixed mortgage are up by 0.4 and 0.52 percentage points respectively in July, adding as much as £70 to monthly payments on a typical £250,000 loan. The rise is the biggest jump since Moneyfacts started tracking data in 2007. It takes the average two-year fix to 3.74%, and 3.89% for five years. Unlike people on a variable-rate mortgage, fixed-rate borrowers are protected from rate rises until their contract ends. But this protection means customers coming to the end of a previous fix will face sharply higher borrowing costs.

The Daily Telegraph