Martin Lewis warns anybody under this age who owns a house

The BBC Sounds and ITV star has issued a warning for any hopeful buyers browsing the mortgage market with plans to act "when the rates drop".
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Martin Lewis has issued a Bank of England "anomaly" warning to mortgage customers. The BBC Sounds and ITV star has issued a warning for any hopeful buyers browsing the mortgage market with plans to act "when the rates drop".

Speaking with Coreco mortgage expert Andrew Montlake on The Martin Lewis Podcast, the MSE founder answered a fan question with some harsh truths. Mr Lewis fielded questions from callers alongside 'Monty', the mortgage broker, and Adrian Chiles.

Martin and Andrew both agreed that the standard variable rate was currently the worst possible option, with the mortgage expert highlighting some products “are even up at 9.5%”. Mr Lewis said: “I get this often from people under 35, people say: ‘When rates go back down to what they should be’. That’s the type of phrasing I get.”

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He added: “There is no ‘when they go back down’. If you take a historical look at about 300 years of interest rates, the period that was the anomaly was 2008-2022. The idea that it must go back down to where it was is not something you should be basing your thinking on. I’m not saying it won’t go back down to that level, I’m saying there’s no rule that it must go back down to that level because it was an anomaly.

“By going onto a variable rate and paying more, you’re paying more for an unpredictable potential gain. From my perspective, it’s the riskier option.” Monty told the Money Saving Expert founder and Chiles: “There is some expectation that we could see a Bank of England base rate of 3.5% or 3% next year but that can change so quickly - we’ve seen that in the past.”

Martin also highlighted that long-term mortgage products are based on long-term predictions. This means this low could actually bring higher interest rates depending on the fluctuations.