Mortgage Lowdown

Come February, and mortgage rates in the United Kingdom are set to rise by 0.25 percent following a rise in the base rate set by the Bank of England. Halifax, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, announced that its standard variable rate (SVR) for new customers will take effect immediately — 7.25 percent as opposed to the old 7 percent. Halifax’s customers on fixed-rate deals have nothing to worry about though — the new rates do not affect them in the least. Halifax follows the example set by Nationwide, the UK’s biggest building society, which is increasing its base mortgage rate from 6.49 percent to 6.74 percent. Both savings rates and tracker mortgage rates are also expected to go up along with the base rates. Money Guardian reports:

Stuart Bernau, executive director at Nationwide, said: "The changes we are making to our mortgage and savings rates are relatively straightforward and simple. We are pleased to be able to act quickly to make it clear to our members how they are going to be affected following the increase in the Bank of England base rate."