Mortgage costs could go up

Buyers tend to look for low initial repayments, the report found

BBC Radio 4's Money Box was broadcast on Saturday, 13 March, 2004, at 1204 GMT.

The programme was repeated on Sunday, 14 March, at 2102 GMT.

Mortgages could become more expensive for many customers if the government accepts a report on the mortgage market published on Friday.

The Miles Report has recommended banning special deals for new customers, and ensuring that every customer is offered the full range of products.

Chancellor Gordon Brown commissioned the report to examine why long-term fixed-rate mortgages are unpopular in the UK.

They are common in the US and continental Europe, but account for less than 5% of UK home loans.

The chancellor is convinced house price swings create economic instability and sees fixed-rate deals as a way of smoothing out market peaks and troughs.

We spoke to Nationwide's Commercial Director Stuart Bernau and Ray Boulger of mortgage lender Charcol about the report's findings and its implications for the mortgage market.

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