A staggering 2.4 million haven’t remortgaged since Maggie was in office
As voters and politicians alike gear up for the hotly contested General Election next week, research from the UK’s leading independent mortgage broker, Charcol, reveals that almost seven million homeowners have not remortgaged since the Tories were last in power. As a result, consumers are collectively losing out on savings of over £5 billion* this year alone.
The research also reveals that, whilst historically, borrowers have remortgaged most under Labour, remortgage activity peaked during the Tory-led period between1989 and 1993, in light of the eye-watering climb in interest rates to 15% in 1990.
The good news is that more than three million savvy homeowners have remortgaged since the last general election, taking advantage of the fierce competition in the marketplace to secure themselves substantial savings.
Charcol has analysed mortgage borrower activity since John Major, Margaret Thatcher and Harold Wilson left office:
Number of homeowners who have not remortgaged since
Serving PM
Party
Year(s)
6,900,000
John Major
Conservative
1990 – 1997
2,400,000
Margaret Thatcher
Conservative
1979 – 1990
200,000
Harold Wilson
Labour
1974 - 1979
Elliot Nathan of Charcol comments: “There may be a general feeling of apathy over the election on 5th May, but there’s simply no excuse for apathy over one of the biggest financial commitments of your life. Millions of homeowners are missing out on potentially massive repayment savings by sitting on their hands instead of taking advantage of today’s low rates. A typical borrower on standard variable rate can save around £120 per month by remortgaging, and you can quickly check online or over the phone whether this applies to you.”
Borrowers keen to see how much they could save on their current mortgage repayments should either contact Charcol on 0800 71 81 91
or visit the ‘Switching your Mortgage’ remortgage comparison tool at www.charcolonline.co.uk
