A website has looked at what a potential further 0.25 percentage point hike in the Bank of England base rate could mean for homeowners across England.
Ahead of the next base rate announcement on June 22, comparison service TotallyMoney looked at what a base rate hike could mean for mortgage payers – if the Bank of England decided to raise the base rate from 4.50% to 4.75%.
Figures were calculated by Andrew Hagger, a personal finance expert at Moneycomms.
Alastair Douglas, chief executive of TotallyMoney, said: “If you are looking at locking in a new offer, make sure you do your research first. Get in touch with an independent mortgage broker who can take you through your options and research the whole market for your best borrowing options.
“You should also check your credit report is up to date and that you’re in good financial shape. It’s free to do and could save you thousands as the best offers will usually be reserved for those with the best scores.”
If you are looking at locking in a new offer, make sure you do your research first— Alastair Douglas, TotallyMoney
Mr Hagger said: “Consumers will be frustrated that rate hikes haven’t petered out by now, and worrying that their already battered finances will be squeezed further.”
Various assumptions about house prices and mortgages were made for the calculations and so the actual impact for individual borrowers will vary, depending on their own circumstances, including what type of mortgage they have.
The research used average house prices from just before the series of interest rate hikes started in November 2021, as well as assuming a borrower had a 75% loan-to-value variable rate mortgage and a 25-year mortgage term.
Here are the average additional monthly costs of a potential 0.25 percentage base rate hike across regions of England, based on the calculations:
– East Midlands, £26
– East of England, £39
– London, £61
– North East, £17
– Yorkshire and the Humber, £22
– North West, £23
– South East, £42
– South West, £36
– West Midlands, £27