The Autumn Budget and your mortgage

"It's important not to panic and to not feel pressured into making a rushed decision. I have not yet seen any changes in mortgage rates as a result of the budget and do not expect to. They are more likely to be impacted by interest rate expectations. Even if mortgage rates do increase, they are still extremely low and there are some great deals to be had."

"There is no doubt that rates will rise. The base rate is the lowest it has ever been and it is simply not sustainable. Reducing rates is a weapon in the Government's armoury to combat economic challenges but that weapon is firing the last of its ammunition and it can't continue for much longer. There is no specific deadline for when rates will rise and each lender will choose when to amend their product offering but it's likely to be imminently, so if your current deal expires in the next 6 months it is worth speaking to a broker now to lock a new rate in."

"We have seen a number of lenders slightly increase their rates over the last week. It is inevitable that rates will increase going forward, as they have been very low for a long time. The fixed rates are still very competitive. You can secure a rate below 1% depending on your situation, so it is definitely worth considering a fixed rate. If you are on the lender's Standard Variable Rate and you have no plans to move or overpay, you would save a significant amount securing a fixed option whilst the rates are low."

"Interest rates have been setting record low after record low for a few years now, so a rise is going happen. The questions are when and by how much? The Bank of England have stated many times that when they increase the base rate it will be in small increments and over a long period of time, as the economy is unlikely to tolerate a large jump in the base rate, especially given all the other factors businesses and individuals are currently facing. That being said, there is actually not a direct link between the base rate at the Bank of England and the retail interest rates most households have. So it could be that mortgage interest rise, even if the base rate doesn't, or they could rise at a different pace. "It is equally conceivable that competitive pressures mean that retail interest rates rise at a slower rate than the Bank of England rate. It will all come down to how much the base rate rises, what the big High Street banks do and where any given lender is sourcing the funds they are lending out as mortgages. Ultimately any borrower knows that rates can rise at any time and we have had it very good, for a very long time."

"Same old, same old so far. There have been some slight increases in some lenders' rates over the past few weeks but this seems to be independent of the budget. It just isn't sustainable in the long term to offer borrowing rates in some cases below 1%. Funnily enough there seems to be more movement on lenders offering 'green mortgages' with better rates for energy efficient homes that are actually likely to save some consumers money."

"It's no surprise to most that rates have been low for some time. But one thing we can be sure of is there will be no skyrocketing of rates, so don't believe the hype from certain TV money savers. There have been slight increases in rates but this has gone hand in hand with more lenders offering higher LTV loans. The introduction of greener mortgage products and longer fixed rates is also keeping the market fairly stable regardless of what was in the Budget. Hopefully, the increase in the minimum wage will help some first-time buyers get their first homes."