2025-02-19
6 分钟The Economist. Hello, Mike Byrd here, co-host of Money Talks,
our weekly podcast on markets, the economy and business.
Welcome to Editor's Picks.
We've chosen an article from the latest edition of The Economist,
which we very much hope you'll enjoy.
The holiday from reality for the happy few enjoying it has been delightful.
Three years ago it was still possible to fix a mortgage rate in Britain and much of the euro area at somewhere near 1%.
American housing loans were dearer by just a percentage point or two.
Even as interest rates have risen and borrowing costs for new mortgages have doubled or tripled,
Homeowners who locked in the enviable rates of the early 2020s have been living blissfully in the past.
Moreover,
the inflation that prompted rates to rise has bitten chunks out of the real value of their debt.
Alas, the holiday is now over for many.
Although American fixed rates often last for decades,
most in Britain and swathes of continental Europe expire after five years or less.
It was in early 2022 that the last of the dirt cheap loans disappeared,
after which borrowing costs began climbing fast.
A large number of mortgage holders, in other words,
have either seen their interest bills rocket recently or will do soon.
For those with spare cash to hand,