The professional advice website revealed this had increased from 23% earlier in 2009, highlighting that more homeowners were now sitting tight on their low rate SVR, rather than remortgaging to a fixed rate.
When describing their current mortgage situation, one in four (25%) of homeowners said they were on their lender’s SVR and had no plans to change. This rose to over one in three (36%) of those aged 55 and over. With best buy standard variable rates generally remaining lower than best buy fixed rate mortgage deals in the current market place, it appears homeowners may not be considering a move to a fixed rate unless the base rate starts to rise.
The research also shows there are now only 11% of homeowners moving to another mortgage deal once their discounted, fixed or tracker rate deal comes to an end, compared to a slightly higher 12% earlier in the year.
David Elms, chief executive of Unbiased.co.uk, commented: “We have gone through a period of falling base rate, making SVRs suddenly an attractive option compared to many fixed rate deals. And with good mortgage deals hard to secure, many homeowners are finding it tough to keep track on which is the best mortgage for them and when is the best time to move onto a new deal.”
Elms said that while in the past it could be financially crippling to remain on a lender’s SVR after a mortgage deal had ended, it was now becoming a more popular option.
He added: “It is however worth noting that fixed rate deals will sharply increase should the base rate go up and borrowers may find competitive fixed rate deals hard to come by.”
