The argument for fixing mortgage payments at historically low interest rates was now becoming "compelling", a Dublin-based mortgage broker said today.
Speaking after today's half-point cut in interest rates by the ECB, Mr Peter Bastable, managing director of Simply Mortgages, said that if mortgage lenders passed on the full rate cut today it would mean typical savings of just under €40 per month for people with a 20-year €150,000 mortgage.
The European Central Bank cut its key interest rate to an all-time low of in an effort to revive the flagging euro zone economy.
Mr Bastable has advised that now might be the time for people to lock in the benefits of the current low interest rate environment and remove any threat of rising rates.
"While further small reductions by the ECB can't be discounted, its hard to deny now that fixed rates — which are as low as 3.79 per cent for three years — are hard to beat," he said.
For customers not interested in fixing, Mr Bastable recommends that they maintain their payments at current levels — regardless of the decision of their lender to reduce repayments.
"Forgoing €40 a month now can literally shave thousands of pounds off your interest repayments and years off the life of your loan," he concluded.