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Mortgages

A 1% rate rise would add £10bn to mortgage repayments

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
26/02/2018

Household mortgage bills would jump by a typical £930 a year if the Bank of England were to raise the base rate by 1%, analysis has revealed.

Higher rates would collectively add £10bn to UK mortgage repayments, according to the study by estate agent Savills.

Four in 10 borrowers on variable rate mortgages would see an overnight increase of around £4.3bn, while those on fixed-rate deals would be hit as terms end.

Buy-to-let landlords would overall pay £2.4bn more for mortgages, with other homeowners paying £7.8bn.

The Bank of England recently warned it could raise interest rates faster and sooner than previously forecast, with the next hike now expected in May.

And over the weekend, Dave Ramsden, the Bank’s deputy governor, reinforced the point.

He told the Sunday Times: “I see the case for rates rising somewhat sooner rather than somewhat later.”

Higher interest rates are set to flatten house price growth, with values to rise by 14% over the next five years and 7% in London, according to Savills.

Lucian Cook, head of residential research, said higher rates would “bring an end to the historically low mortgage costs that have boosted housing affordability and limit the buying power of those needing a mortgage, and underscores our forecasts for more subdued house price growth over the next five years”.

He added: “We’d expect first-time buyers in London, whose mortgage costs relative to earnings are already more stretched than for any other group, to be most affected.”

Mortgage bills different to the financial crisis

Mortgage capital repayments are now much higher, compared to a decade ago during the financial crisis, according to Savills.

Outstanding mortgage debt currently stands at around £1,367bn and the annual mortgage bill at around £84.7bn.

More than eight out of 10 mortgages are now repayment loans.

But back in 2007, total borrowing was lower at £1,156bn but the annual mortgage bill was 18% higher at £100bn and just half of mortgages were repayment.

At the same time, the total number of outstanding mortgages has fallen by half a million as ownership among younger households has dropped.

But mortgaged buy-to-let landlord numbers have risen by 867,000.

Buy-to-let interest only borrowers have been the main beneficiaries of post credit crunch mortgage trends, according to Savills.