Mortgages

If you're a Halifax or Lloyds mortgage borrower you'll soon only be able to lock in a new rate up to four months ahead of your current deal ending – down from six months. It means you've less time to insure yourself against rates rising before your existing mortgage comes to an end – though rates have been on a downward trajectory for the past few months.

Fixed-rate mortgage deals have dropped below 4% for the first time since April – though only for those with at least a 40% deposit or equity in their home. However, mortgage brokers say rates could continue to fall as the year goes on – so what, if anything, should you do about it?

The Bank of England has held the base rate at 5.25% for the seventh time in a row. But with some economists and traders still predicting a rate cut in August, there could be a knock on impact on mortgage and savings rates. Here's what you need to know.

The Bank of England has held the base rate at 5.25% for the fifth time in a row. This rate is used by the central bank to charge other banks and lenders when they borrow money – and so it influences what borrowers pay and what savers earn.

Mortgage prisoners are still suffering every month and need urgent help from the Government, a parliamentary group has said. The call comes nearly a year after the publication of a major report, funded by MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis, which put forward costed solutions to the nightmare situation facing up to 200,000 people in the UK.

Are you buying a home, remortgaging or renting, and trying to plan your next steps? MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis explained what could change over the next year in the latest episode of ITV's The Martin Lewis Money Show Live.

Interest rates on mainstream five-year fixed mortgage deals are set to drop below 4% this week – the first time in more than six months they've been this low from a high-street lender. Meanwhile, two-year fixes are set to fall below 4.5%. But will they get any cheaper and what, if anything, should you do about it? 

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?

Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert.com’s (MSE's) founder and chair, is today strengthening his call for the Chancellor to overhaul the Lifetime ISA (LISA) in his 22 November Autumn Statement. Young savers should not be essentially fined – and lose their hard-saved cash – when they purchase homes above the scheme's £450,000 limit. This is a problem that leaves far more at risk now than when LISAs launched in 2017.

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.