Expats going for longer deals

Two-fifths of expats (42%) re-mortgagors opted for a five-year fix in October, the third month in a row that the percentage of re-mortgagors fixing for 3 plus years has grown.

Reason for the surge in demand is fears of more rises in interest rates with 56% of September’s re-mortgagors anticipating the Bank of England increasing base rate, and they were correct.

This is a considerable increase from the previous month when 45% of borrowers said they were expecting an imminent rate rise, and is in stark contrast to September 2016, when this number was only 10%.

With average mortgage rates increasing, expat borrowers are capitalising on this benign lending environment by locking-in to fixed deals and securing rates for the medium to longer-term. This is without doubt a very wise move as the UK economy continues to be unstable. The Brexit talks uncertainty is not helping either.

Annual repayment figures for re-mortgagors has fallen to 12.4% of total income – an all-time low. In October alone, the number of expat re-mortgagors increased by 19%, while the value of re-mortgaging increased by 16%.

These figures go to show the wise expat is acting rather than “sitting tight and hoping” which is a very wise move if your mortgage is “stuck” on a variable rate.

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