New research by MoneyExpert.com, a financial comparison website, has revealed that almost 1.39 million homeowners who are unhappy with their mortgage deal have dumped their mortgage provider in favor of a better deal in the past six months.
MoneyExpert.com has reported that around 3% of the adult population has switched mortgage provider since June 2006 but claims that this represents around 11% of all mortgage holders. The research comes amid increasing uncertainty about mortgages. The Bank of England has recently expressed concerns that an increasing number of households will be unable to secure credit because of the introduction of stricter lending criteria.
And according to MoneyExpert.com homeowners are prepared to switch mortgages despite increasing application fees and the threat of early redemption penalties. The comparison website has recently reported that in the past 12 months the number of mortgages with uncapped upfront fees has grown almost fivefold. People aged 35 to 44 years are the most likely to have switched mortgage provider, while people living in the South of England are least likely to have done so.
Sean Gardner, CEO of MoneyExpert.com, said: The uncertain financial climate of the past six months has forced many people to reassess their household budget with the mortgage top of the list of priorities. Plenty of people will have dumped a mortgage provider because they want to fix their rate while others will have been on the lookout for a new deal after coming off a competitive fixed rate from times when rates were very low.