Halifax mortgage customers are going to find their mortgage payments climbing as the money lender hikes there interest rates by half a percent. The rise in mortgage costs will come into effect in May with Halifax’s standard variable rate climbing to 3.99%, nearly 3.5% above the base rate.
Halifax was Britain’s largest mortgage lender before the credit crunch.
The move follows similar action taken by RBS-Natwest creating fears that more banks will follow suit as the floodgates open despite the base rate remaining unchanged. Halifax’s price rise is likely to affect around 850,000 customers. The change in rates will cost someone with a £100,000 mortgage almost an extra £500 a year.
Ray Boulger from the mortgage broker John Charcol said that he feared that customers with larger mortgages, little equity or interest-only deals would be most affected, as they would struggle to move to a cheaper loan.
The Price rise by RBS-Natwest affected around 200,000 customers.