£2,000 warning to people with a Lloyds, Nationwide, Barclays, TSB, NatWest mortgage

A £2,000 warning has been issued to every mortgage holder in the UK – as UK house prices fall again. The average UK house price fell by an estimated 0.6 per cent in the year to January 2024, according to an index from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This took the average price of a home in the UK to £282,000, which was £2,000 lower than 12 months earlier. The biggest lenders in the country remain Lloyds, HSBC, Nationwide and Barclays, as well as Santander, NatWest and TSB. Andrew Montlake, managing director of Coreco mortgage brokers, said of the inflation figure: “It should relieve some pressures on swap rates which will see lenders start to reduce mortgage rates once more.”
Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert, said of the inflation figure: “Today’s news is positive, and every day is one step closer to when we might see the first base rate reduction, and mortgage rates are likely to reduce before this. I don’t think this will change the course of the Bank of England’s decision on the base rate tomorrow, but I expect both the Bank and home movers will have some renewed optimism for the direction the economy and mortgage rates are heading in after today.”
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David Hollingworth, associate director at broker L&C Mortgages, said: “The expected fall in the rate of inflation should mean that mortgage borrowers can rest easy and today’s news shouldn’t result in any big market swings. Fixed (mortgage) rates have been nudging back up in the last month after rates dropped sharply in the early part of the year.”
Verona Frankish, chief executive of Yopa, said: “With this morning’s inflation numbers coming in slightly better than expected, all eyes will be fixed on the Bank of England this week in anticipation of a base rate reduction. While we expect these hopes may be a tad premature with respect to this week’s decision, it’s seemingly a matter of when, not if, a cut does materialise.
“When it does, it’s likely to act as a shot in the arm to the UK property market, bringing further stability, boosting buyer sentiment and increasing both transaction levels and house prices as a result.” Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, said: “Increased activity in the market is likely in coming months with inflation once again falling and a reduction in interest rates potentially on the way.”
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