‘Much-needed confidence boost’ for home buyers as mortgage rates fall Households on mortgages which directly track the Bank of England base rate will see their monthly payments fall by nearly £29 on average, following Thursday’s base rate cut.
Kevin Roberts, managing director at Legal & General Mortgage Services, said: “Today’s base rate decision will be encouraging news for home buyers, and some lenders have already priced this change into their mortgage rates over the past few days.
Simon Gerrard, managing director at Martyn Gerrard Estate Agents, said that for some home buyers, any savings from the base rate being cut could be offset by stamp duty discounts becoming less generous from April, when the nil-rate band for first-time buyers will shrink from £425,000 to £300,000.
The cut could provide some relief to people looking to remortgage as well as first-time buyers, although experts suggested that, while some lenders could cut their rates, others may have already “priced in” Thursday’s cut.
He said: “It’s a highly positive sign for the market to see base rates coming down, though many mortgage lenders may have already anticipated this cut and adjusted their rates accordingly.
