Increasing numbers of potential borrowers are searching for tracker mortgages, new data from Experian has revealed.
Despite fixed-rate deals being more popular across the home loans market, statistics from Experian’s mortgage price comparison service revealed searches for trackers in March jumped to the highest level this year.
It suggests, said Experian, people were revisiting trackers as an option for their mortgage and were confident they could absorb any potential Bank of England (BoE) interest rate hikes later this year.
Figures showed borrowers shopping for trackers had increased by 15.21% in March from 9.29% in February. Meanwhile, 60.9% of potential homebuyers were searching for fixed-rate deals and 23.89% were sizing up options for variable rate mortgages.
According to Experian demand for fixed-term deals was at its highest rate in November 2017, when the BoE increased interest rates for the first time in ten years.
As borrowers attempted to protect themselves from lenders’ rate hikes, searches for fixed mortgages soared to 67%, said Experian.
This fell back to 60.29% in December and went back up to 63.36% in January.
Amir Goshtai, managing director of propositions and partnerships at Experian said: “Getting the right mortgage deal is one of the most important decisions people can make
“It remains to be seen if this interest in trackers deals is the start of a trend which will carry on throughout 2018, or is just a one-off as the BoE considers whether or not to raise interest rates.”
