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 Rate cut for Yorkshire fixed-rate mortgage - 02/08/2006
Yorkshire Building Society has cut the interest level on its fixed-rate mortgage by 0.3 per cent.
The cut in the rate will be effective for fixed-rate mortgages for a period of two and five years and brings the rate as a whole down to 4.93 per cent.
Yorkshire Building Society is also giving fixed-rate mortgage customers the option to overpay their mortgage payments during certain months, and to underpay and take payment holidays during other months of their choice.
David Heshon, Yorkshire Building Society's product development manager, said: "A number of borrowers are becoming increasingly worried about the cost of homeownership as interest rates are expected to rise and most utility bills have seen a large price hike this year.
"We are therefore finding more people wanting the payment security of a fixed rate mortgage."
However, homebuyers are being urged to look past just the interest rate when deciding on a mortgage provider. They should also examine the effect of mortgage fees and also whether interest on the mortgage is collected daily, monthly or annually.
The new rate on the fixed mortgages will be available from Friday August 4th.
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Mortgage costs rise in August - 07/09/2006
The cost of servicing mortgages in England and Wales rose to £546 per month, or 19 per cent of take-home pay in August.
The increase in costs, up from 18.8 per cent of take-home pay in July, takes the cost of paying for mortgages to its highest level since the Woolwich started measuring affordability in 2002, it said.
All areas of the UK, with the exception of the south-west and west Midlands saw affordability worsen in August, the company said, with the biggest rises in costs in London, the north-west of England and Wales, which all saw increases of 0.4 per cent during the month.
Not included in the rises are increased costs due to the interest rates rise in August, which are expected to filter through to mortgage payments in September.
"Increasing house prices, a buoyant summer market and the higher cost of fixed rates are having an impact on affordability," said head of mortgages for the Woolwich, Andy Gray.
"With the increase in base rates in August yet to filter through the cost of borrowing still has some way to go and it will become increasingly questionable whether another increase in interest rates is needed as the steam already seems to be coming out of the market."
Holborn and St Pancras in London were found to be the least affordable places in the country, with Staffordshire Moorlands the most affordable place.
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