Last week research from Mortgage Advice Bureau found that the number of remortgage customers choosing variable rate products had more than doubled in August.
It said the proportion of remortgagors taking tracker products had leapt from 9.5% to 20.8%. This rise followed Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s suggestion that interest rates are likely to remain low for the next three years.
The latest Mortgage Solutions People’s Poll asked whether brokers had witnessed a move towards variable rate remortgage products and 36% said they had been a shift in this direction.
However, the majority of brokers (64%) said that clients still preferred to take fixed rate products.
Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, said: “These figures clearly show how influential the Bank of England can be on borrower sentiment. Analysts may question whether interest rates can remain on hold until 2016 if the economy builds on recent progress and continues to emerge from the gloom.
“But the house buying public are clearly open to reassurance from the Bank, with more people willing to trade in the security of fixes this month for the benefit of lower rates.
“With five-year fixed rates falling by 0.05% and two-year fixed rates up by 0.06%, there are still plenty of reasons to consider locking down for longer.”
