Mortgage costs increased during Q4 2017

The cost of mortgages is on the rise with the price of the majority of mainstream residential mortgages increasing during the last three months of 2017, according to new data from Mortgage Brain.

The figures show – as of January 1 2018 – that the cost of a three-year fixed rate mortgage with a 60% LTV has risen by 5% over the past three months. Similarly, a 70% LTV two-year fixed product now costs 4% more than it did at the start of October 2017.

The quarterly product data analysis – a breakdown of all main product types in the UK mortgage market for a repayment mortgage and calculated by cost per ‘£000’ – also shows a 3% rise in the cost of a 60% and 80% two-year fixed and an 80% LTV two-year tracker.

Small increases of around 2% over Q4 2017 have also been recorded for 70% and 80% LTV three-year fixed mortgages, and a 1% increase for a 90% LTV two-year fixed, a 60% two-year tracker and a 70% five-year fixed mortgage.

What’s more, in monetary terms, the 5% increase for the 60% three-year fixed equates to an annual increase of £360 on a £150,000 mortgage and a £252 annual increase for the 70% two-year fixed product.

Longer-term analysis, however, shows strong year-on-year reductions over the past three years. For example, the cost of a two-year fixed product is now 13% lower than it was in January 2015. A 60% and 90% five-year fixed are both 9% cheaper in the same period, while a 60% two-year fixed and tracker are 8% and 5% lower respectively.

“It looks like we’re starting to witness the effects of November’s interest rate rise and previous predictions with slow and steady cost increases being recorded month on month since October 2017,” said Mark Lofthouse, chief executive of Mortgage Brain.

“So far, the increases have been marginal; however, with further rate increases predicted, we could be starting to see a shift in change in terms of mortgage cost movement compared to the past few years.”

He added: “Our analysis at the end of the first quarter of 2018 should reveal more."