6% mortgage rates; trouble a'ht Mill

[Twiglets1]

This is a new 6% mortgage rates thread as the last one is almost full.

Thanks to KievLoverTwo for suggesting the second part of the title to reflect all the squabbling these threads are causing. Which could be a thing of the past of course. But realistically, it won't be.

Some prices have been falling, but others are going up. There is still a limited supply, as people are not moving unless they must; some may be on good fixed deals still, for example, others don't want to change jobs in a depressed economy when they might have otherwise, as it's often first in, first out. Rents are still rising in a lot of places, and buying can still be cheaper if you can get the loan for it.
The problem is that house prices depend on so many factors it is difficult to predict anything with any accuracy, even without Black Swan events like covid and the energy crisis. Of course, if someone was really good at predicting house prices, they'd have made a fortune in the last couple of decades. So the question is- did you?

Mortgage rates are tipped to fall below 4pc as soon as next week, after swap rates fell to levels not seen since May.
Swap rates, a leading indicator for mortgage rates, fell to 3.99pc on Tuesday before dipping further – to 3.94pc – on Thursday.
On Friday, the average rate for two-year fixed mortgages also dropped below 6pc for the first time since mid-June, according to Moneyfacts.
Major banks including Nationwide, Santander and Halifax all cut their fixed rates on Friday, in what some brokers have called “the next chapter of the mortgage rate war”.
Nationwide slashed its fixed rate products by up 0.40 percentage points, with rates starting from 4.19pc. Meanwhile, in emails sent to brokers and seen by The Telegraph, Santander and Halifax said they were reducing rates by up to 0.32 and 0.25 percentage points respectively.
These cuts follow First Direct’s decision earlier this week to shave up to 0.45 percentage points off its fixed rates.
Across the top six lenders, the average five-year fix rate sat at 4.84pc on December 5 – according to Uswitch.
Some brokers anticipate five-year fixed deals priced at 3.99pc to land as soon as next week, while others predict a rate below 4pc is still a month or so out of reach.

That article is over 3 weeks old🤔

Today`s news is that "Higher For Longer" is here to stay.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/us-november-payrolls-growth-hurts-case-for-early-24-fed-cuts/ar-AA1lcCUQ

The BBC headline today is "Average two-year mortgage rate falls below 6%"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67636575

Well, 5.99% is below 6%< I suppose.

Rightmove has average rates for various LTVs from 5th December.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/articles/property-news/current-uk-mortgage-rates/

They probably wrote that before the "experts" got it wrong (again) on U.S payrolls, the VI media are gagging for rate cuts, can`t see it happening for a while TBH, the BOE has to follow the FED.

I haven't seen any changes in Halifax. Been checking every week.

The information was posted today but I used the wrong link, sorry. This is the correct link

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/mortgages/mortgage-rates-tipped-fall-below-4pc/

I need to sell this Spring. Hopefully people can start getting mortgages at better rates for 2024. I want to put my house in the market for a realistic price to sell by summer. Was valued at £2.7 in Autumn 2022 before the mess of Liz Truss. Never went to the market but I really need to sell next year. Seeing reports today houses in London have come down like 3 percent. Is that realistic or should I start with 5 percent off that from asking price?

You need to get new valuations in January 2024 or whenever you want to list the property. The situation will be different in different areas of London so you need to get the advice of 2 or 3 local EAs. And tell them you want a realistic valuation not an aspirational one as you need to sell fairly quickly.

I will do. Thank you

Any predictions for the next BoE base rate meeting on Thursday?

Im going with the majority view that the rate will stay at 5.25% for a few more months yet.

With the all important 10 year yield on the move again (up) they will have to hold. I think all of next year will be above 5%, and higher if there are any "shocks" (ME etc.)

I think we’ll probably see the first 25% cut in the summer

Well there was supposed to be "4 cuts next year" from the FED, until the "experts" got it wrong again on U.S job numbers, they will come out with more nonsense as the news changes next month LOL. The thing to remember is that cuts are going to be happening because we are entering a serious downturn, and there isnt going to be globally co-ordinated QE to bail everyone out this time, and as a smart poster on HPC said recently - deflation/recession is FAR worse for house prices than inflation/rate hikes because if you dont have a job you won`t even take on the mortgage debt in the first place let alone worry about paying it off.

Oh do you spend time on the HPC site? I never would have guessed 😂

I have been quoted 4.3 for a remortgage on a low geared mortgage. May be that the bottom of the market is around now? If you can find someone trying to sell a property that suits your requirements with so many deciding not to try to sell in this market....

It seems like that’s a big problem for people currently house hunting. Not enough quality stock on the market.

I’m assuming your 4.3% remortgage rate is for a 5 year fix @CountryCob ?

..and many more deciding not to buy.

Well that is their choice Crashy. Hope they have a lot of cash for all that rent, unless they have somewhere free to live?

@Twiglets1 yes its a substantial reduction on the quote 6 weeks ago we did not proceed with

In many cases it is their bank`s choice, you do sound quite bitter though at the thought of all those overpriced chains collapsing.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/08/higher-interest-rates-inflation-debt

Excellent, it does seem a good rate.