"Over the coming months, it is likely that we will see a further surge of borrowers locking into fixed rates before they climb higher."
The popularity of fixed rate mortgages has been rising steadily since 2011, and now accounts for almost 90% of all products, up from 87% in the same quarter last year.
Two-year fixed products remain stable, making up 47% of all mortgages in Q3, and are still the most popular product on the market despite the continuing popularity of longer terms.
Despite remortgages still being the most popular, figures have decreased from 39% in Q2 to 36% in Q3 with first time buyers and buy-to-let mortgages now taking a higher percentage of the market. Buy-to-let mortgages now make up 17% of all mortgage cases.
John Heron, Managing Director at Paragon Mortgages, said: “With interest rates gradually increasing, after a long period of historic lows, it is not surprising that homeowners are racing to fix the cost of their mortgage for longer terms. Over the coming months, it is likely that we will see a further surge of borrowers locking into fixed rates before they climb higher.
“It is positive for the buy-to-let market to see application numbers increase after weaker numbers in the previous three quarters. Hopefully, this will be a sign of things to come for the buy-to-let market after a period of uncertainty following regulatory changes, reduced tax relief and the uncertainty around Brexit.”
