UK homeowners: if your mortgage costs will rise soon, how are you preparing?

As borrowing costs remain high due to higher mnortgage rates, house sellers are accepting discounts of £18,000 on average in order to agree a deal with buyers, according to property website Zoopla. In London and the South East, sellers are discounting properties by around £25,000, according to new figures. Issue date: Tuesday November 28, 2023. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, warned repeatedly this week against speculation that the base interest rate of currently 5.25% would be coming down soon.

About 55% of UK mortgages have been moved onto a higher interest rate since borrowing costs started to rise in December 2021 – although many homeowners on fixed mortgage deals are yet to be hit: another 5m mortgages are expected to be repriced by 2026.

Mortgage arrears in the UK are forecast to rise from 105,600 cases by the end of 2023 to 128,800 cases by the end of 2024.

We’d like to hear from UK homeowners whose fixed mortgage deals will expire next year how they are readying themselves for higher mortgage costs, and where the increase may leave them financially.

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