News

29/01/2010 18:11:46

Many homeowners 'enjoyed a fruitful year'

The average mortgage payer may have enjoyed a more prosperous year in 2009, it has been suggested.

According to research carried out by Woolwich, the mortgage arm of Barclays, homeowners now pay an average monthly mortgage repayment of £497, compared to £607 in December 2008.

The average mortgage payer in England and Wales paid 20 per cent less on their monthly mortgage repayments in December 2009 in comparison to the same period of the previous year.

David Kuo, director at The Motley Fool, said: "People have suddenly realised that they have got a little bit of extra money in their pockets and the reason for this has been that the Bank of England has been slashing interest rates."

He added that people need to be aware that interest rates are artificially low and cannot remain at 0.5 per cent forever.

The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee recently voted to keep the base rate at 0.5 per cent for the 11th consecutive month.