‘A substantial minority of recent mortgage borrowers have taken advantage of low interest rates to pay off their loans more quickly, lenders say.
Research by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows that one third of the nearly seven million new borrowers since 2005 have deliberately overpaid.
The CML says the extra payments have amounted to £31bn. This in turn has made a significant improvement to the financial position of these households. Its research found that the average overpayment per mortgage amounted to £13,400 although there was a wide range in the value of the payments.
“Half of all overpaying on their mortgage have done so by £5,000 or less,” the CML said. “But there is also a sizeable number making significantly larger overpayments, with 10% overpaying by more than £20,000.”‘
Source: BBC News