John Charcol

Rates on two-year fixed mortgage deals have dipped below 5% for the first time in five months. But brokers believe fixed deals could get even cheaper as the year draws to a close – so should you fix now or hold out?

Interest rates on fixed mortgage deals have been edging down over the past few weeks with some five and 10-year fixes now below 5%. Mortgage brokers have told MoneySavingExpert.com that further cuts are possible in the short term after the base rate was held at 5.25% this month, following 14 consecutive rises.

Interest rates may not rise until 2017 the Bank of England has suggested this month, but mortgage borrowers should still consider switching to a cheaper deal now, with rates near all-time lows.

Mortgage holders could be prevented from moving to a cheaper mortgage deal under new EU rules that start to come into force this Autumn.

The limit for transferring money by Faster Payments with your bank is £100,000, yet many banks set the limit much lower – sometimes as low as £10,000.

If you're looking for a mortgage, we've seen the first signs of rate rises in recent months.

Now is still the time to get a mortgage if you want to fix, it has been claimed, despite the Bank of England insisting the base rate is unlikely to rise any time soon.

Millions of mortgage holders have either been hit with a huge rise in repayments this year, or will shortly see costs soar. Yet some five-year fixed rate deals for new borrowers are at an all-time low. So is it time to consider a new home loan?

More than a million home owners will see the cost of their mortgage payments increase from today.

Around 40,000 borrowers face the threat of higher mortgage costs after Halifax raised a cap for some on a standard variable rate (SVR).