1.8 million fixed-rate deals mature this year — brokers take note
UK homeowners are increasingly staying in their current property rather than moving, as borrowing costs and the expense of relocating combine to keep transaction activity below historic norms.
New research from cash-buying property specialist We Buy Any Home adds a further data point to that pattern, finding that interest rates specifically are cited by a fifth of homeowners as a barrier to moving.
What the survey found
The company surveyed 1,000 UK homeowners and found that 20% say interest rates are still pricing them out of a property move. Of those polled, 44% said they were concerned about their ability to afford a new home, and more than half of that group, 53%, said their concern centred specifically on interest rates and mortgage payments.
Younger homeowners registered particular caution. A fifth of those aged 25 to 34 (21%) and a fifth of those aged 35 to 44 (21%) described themselves as "very concerned" about future rate movements, while 37% and 44% of the respective age brackets said they were "somewhat concerned".
Elliot Castle, chief executive of We Buy Any Home, which commissioned the survey, said interest rates "affect dreams of a bigger home, making an all-important location move or even the difference in space for a growing family."
The company did not disclose the survey's fieldwork dates or polling methodology in the material it released.
The cost of moving adds up
Stamp duty is widely identified as a further factor compounding the effect of interest rates on moving decisions. Sebastian Murphy, group director at JLM Mortgages, has argued that current Stamp Duty Land Tax rates discourage moves at both ends of the market, with the thresholds introduced in April 2025 still in place and no changes announced for 2026.
A separate report from the cross-party House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee called on the Chancellor to reform Stamp Duty Land Tax, describing it as a drag on housing market activity.
The committee stopped short of recommending outright abolition, instead urging the government to launch a consultation into potential alternatives by the end of 2026.
Renovating instead of relocating
Data from secured loan broker Loans Warehouse shows one way this reluctance to move is appearing in lending activity. The broker recorded a 14% rise in secured loans completed for home improvement purposes in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the first quarter, as homeowners chose to extend or renovate rather than take on the combined costs of relocating, including legal fees, surveys and stamp duty.
Market data reported in mid-2026 illustrated the scale of the slowdown. Completions reached 269,000 in the first quarter of 2026, around 30,000 below the five-year quarterly average, according to RSM UK's Q1 2026 housing tracker.
The average two-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 5.68% as of 1 June, up from 4.83% in early March, while annual house price growth across major indices stood at roughly 1.2%, according to the HomeOwners Alliance.
The rate backdrop
The Bank of England has held the base rate at 3.75% for a sixth consecutive meeting, with the Monetary Policy Committee's September 17 decision coming as Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rose to 3.1% in August, up from 2.9% in July.
The decision came against a backdrop of rising energy costs and geopolitical uncertainty, which had pushed swap rates higher in the preceding weeks. An industry poll of 133 mortgage professionals taken ahead of the meeting found 57% expected a hold, while 35% predicted a rise, up sharply from 11% in July.
Nicholas Mendes of John Charcol said the decision did not point to lower mortgage rates arriving soon, noting several lenders had already repriced upward beforehand.
Castle said the rate holding at 3.75% offers near-term stability but described the housing market as stagnant, adding that rising inflation "keeps the door open for an interest rate rise later in the year."
Rita Kohli of The Mortgage Stop has described a related shift among her own clients, who increasingly arrive with non-traditional income structures, larger debt balances or plans to buy for the first time later in life.
She said clients now spend months, and in some cases up to two years, on affordability planning before applying, a pattern that favours early, sustained adviser contact.
Mortgage Advice Bureau has pointed to a comparable dynamic among renters it advises. Rachel Geddes, the network's strategic lender relationship director, said many renters underestimate how close they may already be to being able to buy, once income, expenditure and product choices are reviewed in detail.
The scale of client contact required this year adds further context. UK Finance estimates around 1.8 million fixed-rate mortgages are due to expire in 2026, while the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) 2026 regulatory priorities have placed new weight on the quality of affordability assessments and record-keeping in mortgage advice.
Property transactions are forecast to edge down slightly, from 1.21 million in 2025 to 1.20 million in 2026, consistent with the caution reported among homeowners surveyed by We Buy Any Home.
