Cash-strapped homeowners can be send to two advance cuts in next year according to City economists who have examined the Bank of England's quarterly inflation report.
In the report the tip forecasts that the economy ordain slow in 2008 as the force of five evaluate rises in 15 months the current strength of the pound and the recent uncertainty in financial markets all act their toll. The tip cut its 2008 economic growth forecasts to around 2.2% following a similar downgrade by the Treasury.
The tip of England Governor. Mervyn King also said the economy would overcome the blow to confidence from the woes of with inflation expected to return to target.
What will happen with interest rates?A big downturn would enable the base rate to be cut to 5% bringing much needed relief to millions of borrowers who undergo seen rates soar from 4.5% to 5.75% since summer last year.
Many homeowners have faced crippling jumps in their monthly mortgage bills after come to an end and they were forced to remortgage to a more expensive broach.
Although an interest evaluate cut would provide borrowers with a much needed boost before Christmas - and most industry pundits agree that the only way for interest rates now is down - the first of the cuts is not expected until the New Year possibly February.
Margins before customersHowever there are fears that lenders will not necessarily cut their standard variable rates (SVRs) as they try to protect their profit margins. Lenders including Halifax. Lloyds TSB and Barclays have said there is no guarantee that borrowers ordain benefit from the base evaluate cuts.
Standard Life Bank customers are already feeling the pinch. Last week the bank raised its SVR by 0.15 percentage points to between 7.46% and 7.66% though there has been no movement in the base evaluate since August. The bank blamed "recent significant changes in the owe merchandise" for its act.
But mortgage borrowers on are not immune from rising bills either. Even if rates are cut two or three times next year most of the 1.7 million homeowners due to come to the end of their mortgage deal in the next 12 months are likely to pay more each month for their new broach as the locate rate ordain not be as low as when they took out their original owe.
So what should borrowers do? Homeowners typically pay their lender's SVR after their fixed-rate deals comes to an end. Languishing on a lender's SVR is a bad move as rates are high compared to fixed and tracker deals available; borrowers paying their lenders SVR should as soon as possible.
Some lenders also furnish variable and discount rates linked to their SVR so customers on these deals might not conclude the acquire of falling rates if their lender chooses not to go the evaluate cuts on. If they are not tied in and subject to early repayment charges these borrowers should believe remortgaging too.
If you need to know what your repayments will be over a certain period of time then a fixed rate is the product to opt for. At the moment Abbey's two-year fix and Nationwide's five-year fix appear to be the current beat of the crop fixed at 5.47% and 5.63% respectively.
However there is currently much better value to be found in the tracker and discount markets with rates starting at around 5.1%. These rates are available now even without a reduction in rates which we are expecting soon and so will drop if or when the first evaluate cut occurs.
normally act in line with the locate evaluate. In an environment where it is widely predicted that the Bank of England will displace the base evaluate a tracker is a good option as borrowers will benefit from a fall in rates.
However in the present market no-one can categorically say they know exactly what will happen next or what the right advice is for homeowners. Getting has never been more important - what is right for one borrower may well not be alter for the next.
Please say that articles on MSN Money do not constitute regulated financial advice which recommends a course of action based upon the specifics of your personal circumstances. The articles are intended to provide general personal financial information. We urge you to ask an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) before making any important decisions about your finances. Call 0800 085 3250 or examine for. Any statement regarding financial services products and tax liability is based on legislation and tax practices as at January 1 2007 which is of course subject to dress. The value of any tax benefits or reliefs depends upon the individual circumstances of the investor. When investment performance is mentioned you should bequeath that past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Where products undergo an underlying investment content in many cases the value of the investment can fall as well as go. For with-profit based investments there is no guarantee as to the level of bonuses that will be declared if any. Where mortgages or secured loans are explained do remember that your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a owe or other loan secured on it. All mortgages are subject to underwriting status and are not available to populate under the age of 18.
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