Offset-mortgages become more popular

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by Kay Murchie

New statistics have revealed that an increasing number of Britons are plumping for offset-mortgages. The year-on-year growth in the popularity of offset-mortgages between April 2006 and March 2007 was 49%. In contrast, the rate of growth for non-offset lending was just 15%.

170,000 offset-mortgages totaling £29.4 billion were taken out in 2006, this is equal to 7% of all new lending.

The statistics also found that the average age of a borrower is 41 and the bulk of offset-mortgages are sold through intermediaries.

There are now 250 offset products available and lenders are continuously looking at new products to meet the needs of borrowers.

Over the past 10 months, there have been 4 interest rate rises and this has meant the UK housing market has cooled off slightly, although a record £30.6 billion was borrowed in May 2007.