The return of the Rate Matcher deal: Another reason to be cheerful?

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by: Kate Tee
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Word Count: 366
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 Time: 6:26 AM
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The biggest bank in Britain, HSBC, is re-launching its popular Rate Matcher deal. The scheme offers mortgages with interest rates fixed as low as 2.49 percent for two, three, or five years - in an effort to urge homeowners to re-mortgage before interest rates almost-certainly rise. So is such a scheme another reason to be cheerful about the property market - and what other good news have we seen recently?

Despite some criticism for the higher fee per lower rate ratio, it seems that the move is likely to be welcomed by many - and suggests another positive development in the UK housing market. According to James Charles in The Times, "Recent figures…show that eight out of 10 borrowers are now choosing to lock into a fixed rate rather than opt for deals that track the base rate. The Bank of England held the base rate at 0.5 per cent for the third month in a row today."

The offer is available from the 8th June and is open to anyone, whether they are currently on a fixed, tracker, or standard variable rate - making it very easy for anyone to switch mortgages should they want to benefit from today's low interest rates.

Additionally, HSBC's move follows reports from Nationwide that average house prices in the UK rose by 1.2 per cent during May, whilst the Land Registry report that prices in London rose by 1.4 percent.

Similarly, propertyfinder.co.uk (again, according to The Times) suggests that the faith and confidence of the public in the UK housing market is better now than it has been since September 2007, during the Northern Rock bailout. In a recent poll, 60 percent of those asked thought house prices would rise by May 2010.

There is also general optimism from research published by propertyindex.com and Winkworth estate agents. Both show that buyer interest and demand is rising despite other sources claiming that we are still within a levelling off period. It seems that UK buyers are eager to get back into the market - and Rate Matcher will no doubt spur people to do so

About the Author

Kate Tee writes about finance and insurance. For more information about the best mortgage deals in the UK visit http://www.confused.com