Less mortgage borrowers choosing to fix

A lesser number of borrowers chose to take out fixed-rate mortgages in February, while tracker-rates experienced an increase in popularity.

That is according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), which revealed that the proportion of borrowers choosing tracker-rates rose to 35 per cent in February, an increase of two per cent on the previous month's figure.

By contrast, it was revealed that the uptake of fixed-rate deals fell to its lowest level since March 2005.

Michael Coogan, CML director general, explained that the anticipation of further interest rate cuts had encouraged a greater number of borrowers to opt for floating rate products.

He commented: "The trend away from fixed-rate products continues as expectations of further Bank base rate reductions, probably starting this week, have increased."

The Bank of England will announce its next interest rate decision today (Thursday, April 10th), with many analysts predicting a quarter point cut.

Mortgages News posted on 10/04/2008 11:03:42