Mortgage lenders make a mockery of master plan to unfreeze market by making loans MORE expensive

Banks turned the screw on the property market on Monday, as the number of mortgages available became more expensive and increasingly harder to get hold of. The moves make a mockery of the Government's master plan to unfreeze the mortgage market. Northern Rock, the first bank to be nationalised earlier this year, pointedly ignored last week's emergency interest rate cut by the Bank of England. Mortgage hikes: Nationwide has increased the cost of tracker deals by up to 0.3 per cent, despite the 0.5 per cent cut in interest rates last week Despite the base rate falling to 4.5 per cent, it has reduced its variable mortgage rate by just 0.15 per cent, to 7.34 per cent. If the full benefit had been passed on, payments would fall by around £50 a month on an average £150,000 loan. In reality customers will only save £15. The fear now... [read full story]