To achieve this he has commissioned a study on how Britain can develop a market for long-term fixed rate mortgages - "something that is important to the UK in or out of the euro, and more important in a single currency area".
Nearly two-thirds of mortgages are variable rate with fixed-rates generally being for a short period before the rate returns to the lender’s standard variable rate. Brown is concerned that if interest rates rise people could find themselves in financial difficulty which, in turn, will have a detrimental effect on consumer demand. He wants more long-term fixed-rate mortgages taken out by consumers, thereby moving homeownership out of a boom-bust cycle, and has asked David Miles, professor of Imperial College, to research how this can be done.
In a separate move, he has announced that stamp duty on homes and business premises will be frozen.
