In a recent release from RightMove we hear that consumer confidence has risen in the UK by 53% along with a prediction that house prices will rise in 2010 albeit slowly!

It seems that our predictions for the New Year of 2010 are on target with the interest rates still holding at 0.50% and house prices up 273% in 50 years and the average consumer feeling far more positive about house price increases for the year ahead.

Some of you may be asking whether or not it’s time to look for fixed mortgages with inflation on the up with CPI at 2.9% in December up from November’s 1.9% with controversy apparent in the press about just how quickly it could rise throughout this year, but our advice is to hold back a little longer – perhaps until the end of 2010.

The reason we say this is that most fixed rates available now are for a two year period, which could mean you having to negotiate a renewal of a fixed rate mortgage at the end of 2011, just as the competition is ‘hotting’ up and the fixed mortgage rates quite a bit higher.  If you hang on until the end of 2010 that two year period should take you through the worst of it into 2013 when the property market should have stabilised.

Another word of caution here is to be careful when choosing a lender.  If you choose the wrong one it could cost you up to £5700 a year extra! 

There is a wide variation in standard variable rates being set by the different lenders which are responsible for a difference of almost £5700 a year on a £150 000 home loan.  In simple terms, some lenders are just not passing on the cuts that they are now enjoying!  Lloyds TSB’s mortgage arm of Cheltenham and Gloucester and Nationwide BS are among the lenders offering the lowest standard variable rate at 2.5% against Chesham BS at a whopping 6.45%!  

The calculation isn’t hard to do.  At 2.5% on a £150 000 loan you’d be paying £3997.00/annum in interest but at 6.45% it would stand at £9686/annum.  Personally, I’d rather have that difference in my back pocket!  Shop around before you buy is our advice.

One of the other topics that we touched on in our predictions was the buy to let market.  Rentals are up with demand outstripping supply which is great news for those of you with property to let.   For those of you in rentals, it may be a good time to start monitoring what the new house builders are offering and see if you can your feet on the first rung of the ladder before rental prices start shooting up later this year due to that lack of demand.

House builder Redrow is releasing their New Heritage Homes portfolio on the 12th February and if these don’t suit, I’m sure they can help you find one that does!  In the meantime, take a minute to subscribe to Property Pathways monthly ezine and forward this edition to a friend to enjoy.