5 ms·

That's really high compared to Europe! I just bought a new house with 2% on the interest-only part and 1.6% on the annuity part! In the month after rates grew

That's really high compared to Europe! I just bought a new house with 2% on the interest-only part and 1.6% on the annuity part! In the month after rates grew by about 0.5% though. Seems like we hit the bottom and are climbing very slowly.

switch007 5y ago
Is that rate fixed for 30 years?
- apexalpha 5y ago
  No, 20 years fixed rate on a 30 year mortgage.
  - smcl 5y ago
    Which country, if you don't mind me asking?
    - apexalpha 5y ago
      Netherlands! FYI: https://www.independer.nl/hypotheek/rente.aspx https://www.independer.nl/hypotheek/rente.aspx
- jdasdf 5y ago
  It's practically impossible to get fixed rates in europe.
  - apexalpha 5y ago
    It's not in the Netherlands. Practically everyone has fixed rates here. Especially in the past few years with the low interest rates.
    - smcl 5y ago
      Fixed for the entire duration of the mortgage, and at the rate the commenter mentioned?
      - apexalpha 5y ago
        Mine is fixed for 20 on a 30 year mortgage but you can always choose between variable, 10 year fixed, 20 year or 30 year. Mortgages are (almost) always 30 years duration. I don't know what country in Europe you can't get fixed rates but it's not the Netherlands, that I know for sure. (Also there really isn't a 'Europe' for these things, every country is different)
        jason-phillips 5y ago
        > Mine is fixed for 20 on a 30 year mortgage In the United States we don't call that "fixed". We call that an adjustable rate mortgage. For example, my mortgage is fixed at 3% for its entire 30 year term and can properly be called "fixed". People in the United States are leery of ARMs after what happened during the mortgage crisis in 2006-2011 so proper labeling is more important.
        apexalpha 5y ago
        Ah, right. I could also have picked 30 years for a 'real' fixed mortgage. It just gets a bit more expensive. But it's definitely possible to get 30 year fixed if you really want to, every bank offers it. In the Netherlands an 'adjustable rate mortgage' means monthly, quarterly or yearly variable rates.
        refurb 5y ago
        Adjustable rate mortgages aren't quite the same. Canada is similar to the UK - you amortize (pay back) the loan over 25-30 years. However, your mortgage is either variable (interest rate floats over time) or fixed (interest rate does change), but the loans are only for 1 to 5 years. At the end, you either "renew" your mortgage with the same lender or you "refinance" entirely. So you can have a "fixed" mortgage, but not for the entire amortization period. But you're correct, it's more similar to the ARM mortgages in the US (potentially fixed for 5-10 years, then floating after).
  - room271 5y ago
    In the UK it's very common, albeit not for 30 years - more often 2, 5, or 10. See e.g. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/bank-overground/2020/why-are-more-borrowers-choosing-long-term-fixed-rate-mortgage-products https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/bank-overground/2020/why-are... (In 2020, more than half of new mortgages were fixed for 5 years or more.)
    - moonchrome 5y ago
      That's not fixed rates, that's just variable rate with a delay, it's impossible to get a 30 year loan with a fixed rate in Croatia.
  - colinb 5y ago
    No. That’s not the case. I had a fixed rate mortgage in the UK. Now I have one in Ireland. Two of my colleagues have taken them in the last couple of months. They’re very common. But.. in both countries such terms are for a relatively short period. E.g 5 years fixed changing to SVR for the remainder of the loan. I haven’t heard of loans fixed for the entire duration. I would’ve got one if I had found it. I can’t speak for the rest of Europe. It’s a big place you know.
    - xyzzyz 5y ago
      That’s not what Americans mean by “fixed rate”. In US, that means 30, or more rarely 15 year mortgage, where the rate is fixed for entire duration. The mortgage where it’s only fixed for some initial period is called “adjustable rate mortgage”. Your comment just supported the person you replied to being correct, that fixed rate (in US sense) mortgage market is nonexistent in most of Europe.
      - the_mitsuhiko 5y ago
        You can absolutely have a 30 year mortgage that is fixed all the way through. It's rare that people take it though, most opt to 5-10 years fixed with variable late afterwards from my own experience (Austria). The standard product used to be fixed rate.
      - namdnay 5y ago
        In France 99% of mortgages are fixed rate, for the entire term.
      - IMSAI8080 5y ago
        They're often called "lifetime fixes" or "fixed for term" in the UK. You can easily get them. The term customers choose is typically 25 years rather than 30. However they are currently running at an interest rate of a little under 4% which is much higher than the rate offered on a typical 5 year year fix. This makes them unattractive when you can just perpetually keep re-mortgaging on 5 year fixes.
        5y ago
  - vladvasiliu 5y ago
    As others have said, "Europe" doesn't exist for things like mortgages. In France, for example, the standard mortgage is fixed rate, for the whole duration of the loan, which is usually 20 to 25 years.
  - jgb1984 5y ago
    Uhm my brother just signed a fixed rate of 1.8% for the entire 20 year duration of his home loan. Belgium.
  - modo_mario 5y ago
    what? I got a fixed below 1% rate in Belgium last year. With historical lows on those everyone gets a fixed rate.
oliwarner 5y ago
And compared to a couple of years ago, that's really expensive. The mortgage we took out two years ago (2 year fix, ~60% LTV) had a introductory rate of 1.2%. That falls back to 3.something variable in September. We'll probably look for another fixed but current 2yr fixed rates seem to be around 2.3% (plus a £1k application). That's an uncomfortable increase on a big loan. What's interesting is the rates on bigger loans (eg 90% LTV) aren't much more (2.4%+application). That's not what I'd expect a bank to offer if they expected a bursting bubble.
- apexalpha 5y ago
  Mine is currently 105% LTV, haha. We will drop 0.4% once we get below 66% LTV or so. Also, ours is 20 years fixed. The variable or 5 year fixed was even lower still, around 1.5% at 100% LTV. It's still ridiculously low, which is why we're happy to pay a bit more to get it fixed for 20 years.
- 2ion 5y ago
  That's really interesting. Is it normal in UK (thinking £) to get such an extremely short (introductory) loan and then refinance every few years? In Germany, most people take a 10y fixed rate at least to reduce such risk.
  - nsteel 5y ago
    Yes, here 2 and 5 years is the norm. There's talk of longer terms becoming more popular but that's probably just talk due to the current climate of rising rates. I've spoken to a few brokers lately and not one even mentioned anything longer than 5. It feels like there's a few signs now that the so-called "18-year property cycle" is due to be cut short this time around. I've only recently heard the idea so I'm not sure how it's real it is (outside of their circles that have a vested interested in the timeline it predicts). UK lenders seem to be now toughening lending rules rather than relaxing them as they were "supposed" to. Not sure it's a good time to invest or not!
    - lmt55 5y ago
PinguTS 5y ago
Less then a year ago the interest rate in Germany was less than 1%. Now we are over 2%. The most increases are since about February. It is not slowly growing. The speed of growing is increasing right now. I got mine with about 1% interest two years ago and do almost 5% redemption, fixed almost over the whole time. Just 2 years or so left at the end.
HWR_14 5y ago
US rates tend to rise more quickly, because the standard US mortgage quoted is fixed for the life of the loan (often 30 years). Whereas a lot of European loans are variable rate, where the interest is only fixed for the first 5 or so years of the loan and then floats based on central bank rates. So, obviously, US banks have to price more risk into their rates.

switch007 5y ago

Is that rate fixed for 30 years?

apexalpha 5y ago
No, 20 years fixed rate on a 30 year mortgage.
- smcl 5y ago
  Which country, if you don't mind me asking?
  - apexalpha 5y ago
    Netherlands! FYI: https://www.independer.nl/hypotheek/rente.aspx https://www.independer.nl/hypotheek/rente.aspx
jdasdf 5y ago
It's practically impossible to get fixed rates in europe.
- apexalpha 5y ago
  It's not in the Netherlands. Practically everyone has fixed rates here. Especially in the past few years with the low interest rates.
  - smcl 5y ago
    Fixed for the entire duration of the mortgage, and at the rate the commenter mentioned?
    - apexalpha 5y ago
      Mine is fixed for 20 on a 30 year mortgage but you can always choose between variable, 10 year fixed, 20 year or 30 year. Mortgages are (almost) always 30 years duration. I don't know what country in Europe you can't get fixed rates but it's not the Netherlands, that I know for sure. (Also there really isn't a 'Europe' for these things, every country is different)
      - jason-phillips 5y ago
        > Mine is fixed for 20 on a 30 year mortgage In the United States we don't call that "fixed". We call that an adjustable rate mortgage. For example, my mortgage is fixed at 3% for its entire 30 year term and can properly be called "fixed". People in the United States are leery of ARMs after what happened during the mortgage crisis in 2006-2011 so proper labeling is more important.
        apexalpha 5y ago
        Ah, right. I could also have picked 30 years for a 'real' fixed mortgage. It just gets a bit more expensive. But it's definitely possible to get 30 year fixed if you really want to, every bank offers it. In the Netherlands an 'adjustable rate mortgage' means monthly, quarterly or yearly variable rates.
        refurb 5y ago
        Adjustable rate mortgages aren't quite the same. Canada is similar to the UK - you amortize (pay back) the loan over 25-30 years. However, your mortgage is either variable (interest rate floats over time) or fixed (interest rate does change), but the loans are only for 1 to 5 years. At the end, you either "renew" your mortgage with the same lender or you "refinance" entirely. So you can have a "fixed" mortgage, but not for the entire amortization period. But you're correct, it's more similar to the ARM mortgages in the US (potentially fixed for 5-10 years, then floating after).
- room271 5y ago
  In the UK it's very common, albeit not for 30 years - more often 2, 5, or 10. See e.g. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/bank-overground/2020/why-are-more-borrowers-choosing-long-term-fixed-rate-mortgage-products https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/bank-overground/2020/why-are... (In 2020, more than half of new mortgages were fixed for 5 years or more.)
  - moonchrome 5y ago
    That's not fixed rates, that's just variable rate with a delay, it's impossible to get a 30 year loan with a fixed rate in Croatia.
- colinb 5y ago
  No. That’s not the case. I had a fixed rate mortgage in the UK. Now I have one in Ireland. Two of my colleagues have taken them in the last couple of months. They’re very common. But.. in both countries such terms are for a relatively short period. E.g 5 years fixed changing to SVR for the remainder of the loan. I haven’t heard of loans fixed for the entire duration. I would’ve got one if I had found it. I can’t speak for the rest of Europe. It’s a big place you know.
  - xyzzyz 5y ago
    That’s not what Americans mean by “fixed rate”. In US, that means 30, or more rarely 15 year mortgage, where the rate is fixed for entire duration. The mortgage where it’s only fixed for some initial period is called “adjustable rate mortgage”. Your comment just supported the person you replied to being correct, that fixed rate (in US sense) mortgage market is nonexistent in most of Europe.
    - the_mitsuhiko 5y ago
      You can absolutely have a 30 year mortgage that is fixed all the way through. It's rare that people take it though, most opt to 5-10 years fixed with variable late afterwards from my own experience (Austria). The standard product used to be fixed rate.
    - namdnay 5y ago
      In France 99% of mortgages are fixed rate, for the entire term.
    - IMSAI8080 5y ago
      They're often called "lifetime fixes" or "fixed for term" in the UK. You can easily get them. The term customers choose is typically 25 years rather than 30. However they are currently running at an interest rate of a little under 4% which is much higher than the rate offered on a typical 5 year year fix. This makes them unattractive when you can just perpetually keep re-mortgaging on 5 year fixes.
      - 5y ago
- vladvasiliu 5y ago
  As others have said, "Europe" doesn't exist for things like mortgages. In France, for example, the standard mortgage is fixed rate, for the whole duration of the loan, which is usually 20 to 25 years.
- jgb1984 5y ago
  Uhm my brother just signed a fixed rate of 1.8% for the entire 20 year duration of his home loan. Belgium.
- modo_mario 5y ago
  what? I got a fixed below 1% rate in Belgium last year. With historical lows on those everyone gets a fixed rate.

oliwarner 5y ago

And compared to a couple of years ago, that's really expensive. The mortgage we took out two years ago (2 year fix, ~60% LTV) had a introductory rate of 1.2%. That falls back to 3.something variable in September. We'll probably look for another fixed but current 2yr fixed rates seem to be around 2.3% (plus a £1k application). That's an uncomfortable increase on a big loan. What's interesting is the rates on bigger loans (eg 90% LTV) aren't much more (2.4%+application). That's not what I'd expect a bank to offer if they expected a bursting bubble.

apexalpha 5y ago
Mine is currently 105% LTV, haha. We will drop 0.4% once we get below 66% LTV or so. Also, ours is 20 years fixed. The variable or 5 year fixed was even lower still, around 1.5% at 100% LTV. It's still ridiculously low, which is why we're happy to pay a bit more to get it fixed for 20 years.
2ion 5y ago
That's really interesting. Is it normal in UK (thinking £) to get such an extremely short (introductory) loan and then refinance every few years? In Germany, most people take a 10y fixed rate at least to reduce such risk.
- nsteel 5y ago
  Yes, here 2 and 5 years is the norm. There's talk of longer terms becoming more popular but that's probably just talk due to the current climate of rising rates. I've spoken to a few brokers lately and not one even mentioned anything longer than 5. It feels like there's a few signs now that the so-called "18-year property cycle" is due to be cut short this time around. I've only recently heard the idea so I'm not sure how it's real it is (outside of their circles that have a vested interested in the timeline it predicts). UK lenders seem to be now toughening lending rules rather than relaxing them as they were "supposed" to. Not sure it's a good time to invest or not!
  - lmt55 5y ago

PinguTS 5y ago

Less then a year ago the interest rate in Germany was less than 1%. Now we are over 2%. The most increases are since about February. It is not slowly growing. The speed of growing is increasing right now. I got mine with about 1% interest two years ago and do almost 5% redemption, fixed almost over the whole time. Just 2 years or so left at the end.

HWR_14 5y ago

US rates tend to rise more quickly, because the standard US mortgage quoted is fixed for the life of the loan (often 30 years). Whereas a lot of European loans are variable rate, where the interest is only fixed for the first 5 or so years of the loan and then floats based on central bank rates. So, obviously, US banks have to price more risk into their rates.