Is the mortgage market turbulence getting you down? Have you got a mortgage-related question you need answering? Email in, and we will get one of our experts to reply. Nick Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, has given his advice to a reader below. If you have a question for our experts, email us at money@theipaper.com.
Question: I’m due to remortgage later this year and have been watching the speculation about whether there could be a change of prime minister. Some of the comments from potential successors, particularly around borrowing and the bond markets, seem to have made investors nervous. Could a change in prime minister affect mortgage rates, and should borrowers be worried that fixed-rate deals could become more expensive?
Answer: A change in prime minister could affect mortgage rates, but probably not in the direct way many borrowers might assume.
Shorts
Mortgage rates are not set by the person in No 10. Fixed-rate pricing is mainly driven by swap rates, gilt yields, Bank of England expectations, lender funding costs, and the wider inflation outlook.
