Is this the right time to fix your mortgage interest rate?

Interest rates have been on a downward trend since the 1980s, and in recent years changes to the rates have been minor. However, if interest rates should rise then mortgage payments could skyrocket, so it might be worth considering a fixed interest rate mortgage to keep your payments predictable.

In 1989, the interest rate was 15%; since then, it's dropped dramatically. By 1996 interest rates had reached a 30-year low, and they've stayed low. If rates were to rise, your mortgage payments would increase considerably unless you have a fixed interest rate mortgage.

A fixed interest rate mortgage doesn't follow the ups and downs of the Bank of England base rate, but instead fixes the interest rate for a period of 2, 3 or 5 years. If rates skyrocket during that period, your mortgage payments won't change. That's good news if rates rise, but bad news if they fall even further.