Fixed-rate loans a shelter from the storm of rising interest rates

With bank base rate (BBR) widely expected to rise from 5.25 per cent to 5.50 per cent, fixed rate mortgages - sometimes for ten years and more - are increasingly seen as a safe port in the storm.

In February, 87 per cent of first-time buyers took fixed rate loans - and 76 per cent of all house purchase and remortgage loans were "fixes".

This week Nationwide BS dropped its 25-year fix, from 5.63 per cent, after exhausting an initial £50m tranche in a few weeks. The smaller Kent Reliance has relaunched its 25-year deal at 5.5 per cent, up from 5.15 per cent.

On two-year fixes, Bradford & Bingley's 4.99 per cent loan, from £25,000 to £2m, is tempting as economic skies darken.

But an arrangement fee of £1,499 is effectively a charge of £750 a year for borrowers who move on when the fix expires.

Canny borrowers have noted that mortgage demand is dropping as the market cools: figures from the British Bankers' Association show just over 75,000 loans taken out in March 2006, worth a total £11.3bn, a 12 per cent fall from the 85,100 figure recorded in March 2006.

Lenders trying to boost market share in a declining market must price loans at levels which attract buyers. Gloomy though next week's rate rise might be, there will be no shortage of deals intended to beat the bad news.

Natwest's two-year fix at 5.19 per cent comes with a promise of £1,000 handouts to borrowers already with Halifax, Abbey, Lloyds TSB, C&G, Woolwich and Barclays nearing the end of fixed, discount or tracker rate - if NatWest can't offer them a cheaper deal.

Julia Harris, at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: "NatWest won't have to pay out much money. By carefully choosing dearer lenders in the market, it will be able to undercut what borrowers are already paying elsewhere."

Lenders see plenty of business up for grabs: the Mortgage Advice Bureau, a broker, reckons 300,000 new mortgages were taken out in the second quarter of 2005, 60 per cent of them on fixed rate and most of those for two years.

These are expiring at a delicate moment: if they do nothing, many borrowers on fixes could soon be on standard variable rate (SVR) loans costing almost 7.50 per cent.

Ray Boulger, at independent broker John Charcol, said: "There was a surge into fixed-rate loans after the surprise inflation figures in January.

"Fixes around until two weeks ago have mostly now been pulled. At this stage, people could lock into fixes near the top of the interest rate cycle which, in a year or two, could look expensive."

Mr Boulger said: "New fixes are priced on the assumption bank base rates will go as high as 5.75 per cent - although they could peak at the 5.50 per cent rate expected to be confirmed on May 10."

The added worry for borrowers is that many loans come with huge arrangement fees, lengthy lock-in periods and high exit fees. Often only those with huge mortgages find it worthwhile to move.

Cath Hearnden, at broker My Mortgage Direct, said: "Some lenders still have good two, three and five-year fixes, although deals which sound too good to be true are often much more expensive once all fees are added in.

"Northern Rock has a two-year fix at 5.29 per cent - but the arrangement fee is a stunning £1,995."

Mr Boulger said fixes gave stability to borrowers paying the maximum they can afford.

For those with the average loan size of £120,000 and up to £300,000, he tips Abbey's two-year 5.34 per cent fix for movers only, which comes with free valuation, free legals for both purchase and sale of previous home, and no arrangement fees.

When the fix expires, borrowers are locked into an 18-month extended tie-in at a rate equivalent to standard variable rate - unless they pay a redemption penalty of 0.66 per cent of the mortgage amount and remortgage.

Among trackers, moving in line with bank base rate, Boulger tips BM Solutions two-year deal of BBR minus 0.81 per cent, with an arrangement fee of 1.25 per cent, for loans up to £200,000.