Against expectations, house price growth picked up last month the latest house price index has revealed. Specifically, annual growth increased from 2.6% in December to 3.2% in January this year.

Expat UK property owners will be pleased to see these figures, confirming their investment is holding firm and growing through these challenging times.

The figures further revealed that there was no change in monthly growth, with a month-on-month increase of 0.6% recorded in both January and December. As a result, the average house price stood at £211,756 in January, up only slightly from £211,156 in December, but surpassing the previous high of £211,671 recorded in July 2017.

Given that house prices are still increasing, expat UK homeowners might find this a great time to consider re-mortgaging, taking advantage of both high house prices and decently low mortgage rates. It is predicted mortgage interest rates will rise by the end of the year so consideration towards a fixed deal may be a shrewd move.

The future

UK property is still without doubt a very good long-term investment as is has been over the last 50 years or so. There is no reason to suggest this will change in the next 50 years although growth may not be as rapid.

If you compare the performance of UK property over a general bank savings account there is just no comparison, property wins by a very long way.

With the continual shortage of quality property in the UK this situation alone should give expats confidence for what is to come.

Help?

If you are looking for a new or re-mortgage, please do make contact and one of our qualified advisers will be happy to assist.

Now more than ever expats are looking for ways to reduce their monthly outgoings, one of the biggest expenses most people have every month is the mortgage payment.  As an expat there is a lot of uncertainty at the moment with poor exchange rates and the Brexit situation. It may be a very prudent move to review your current mortgage to establish if it is still the best deal for you, and you are not paying more than you need to.

This will not be the case for everybody, your current deal may well be very good, but it is most certainly worth checking as the wrong deal could be costing you thousands extra every year.

Expats have an excellent choice of mortgage deals currently available, so it’s a very good time to check you are not paying more than you need to.

If you decide to re-mortgage this may an opportune moment to review any expensive loans and credit cards you may have. It is likely the UK property has gained in value giving you a larger equity which could be used to reduce the expensive debt.

Reasons to re-mortgage

• To save money.
• Raise extra cash for a project you have planned.
• Your current deal is ending soon
• You want to pay more to clear the loan earlier and the lender will not permit this.

Reasons not to re-mortgage

• You have a penalty on your current mortgage which makes it prohibitive.
• You have had credit problems since taking out your current mortgage.
• You currently have an advantageous rate which may be fixed.

Can we help?

If you would like to review your current expat mortgage do make contact and one of our fully qualified advisers will be happy to assist.