Long-term fixed-rate mortgages through an international lens: could they lead to higher home ownership?

Gabija Zemaityte

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, among others, has argued that long-term fixed-rate mortgages (LTFRMs) could increase home ownership in the UK. The share of mortgages with longer fixes increased in the UK and internationally over the last decade. Persistently low interest rates over that period have supported demand for longer-fix products, including five-year fixes. But differences in mortgage markets structures across countries are the main drivers of the prevalence of LTFRMs – here defined as mortgages with interest rates fixed for 10 years or more. In this post, I review the international experience, and argue that while LTFRMs can guard against interest rate risk, they do not necessarily increase home ownership. Indeed, some economies with high shares of LTFRMs exhibit lower home ownership.

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Bitesize: How do fixed mortgage rates compare across loan-to-value ratios?

Alister Ratcliffe

Since 2012, long term rates have fallen and there have been various other policy packages to boost credit availability and lower borrowing costs. But how have these fed through to different types of fixed mortgage rates?

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Bitesize: How 20-somethings are getting onto the housing ladder in London

Sachin Galaiya.

There are two ways people can make their resources go further when buying a home.

One is to increase the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio and hence increase the amount available to buy a house for a given deposit.

The other is to lengthen the term over which the mortgage is repaid, which increases the size of loan associated with a given level of monthly repayments.

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