Friday 12th of June 2009
Consumers are paying increased interest rates because lenders expect costs to rise in the future, an expert has stated.
Andy Pratt, chief operating officer at mortgage broker Alexander Hall, explained that banks are charging more in an attempt to "get ahead of the curve".
Bank of England statistics have shown that tracker rates actually rose last month, despite a continued fall in interbank lending costs.
The increased mortgage payments may have caused further debt problems for some homeowners, but solutions such as debt management plans are available to help those who are struggling to keep on top of what they owe.
Commenting on lenders’ actions, Mr Pratt stated: "To a large degree they are actually pricing because they think there may be an interest rate change in the next month or the month after."
The Bank of England figures revealed that the average tracker mortgage charged 3.99 per cent at the end of last month, up from 3.86 per cent in April.
