Almost all of SBAB's new mortgage customers chose a variable interest rate in June.
It's better for everyone to choose a variable interest rate, says Christina Sahlberg, savings economist at the comparison site Compricer.
A full 98 percent of the new customers at mortgage giant SBAB chose a variable interest rate last month.
And only one percent chose to fix the entire loan – and just as many chose a combination of variable and fixed interest rates.
I think customers expect the Swedish Central Bank to lower the interest rate and that it will affect the variable interest rates, says Robert Boije, chief economist at SBAB.
The Swedish Central Bank has previously signaled that there may be up to three more interest rate cuts this year. But SBAB believes there may be four.
Right to choose variable
And according to Christina Sahlberg, savings economist at the comparison site Compricer, it's entirely right to choose a variable interest rate.
It's better for everyone to choose a variable interest rate at present. I'm impressed that the Swedes have control and choose it.
On the other hand, Robert Boije thinks you should only choose a variable interest rate if you have good margins – since it involves risks.
It's about how large your expenses are in relation to your income, but also how much savings capital you have.
So if you have good margins, I think it's pretty calm to choose a variable interest rate.
According to Christina Sahlberg, there are of course risks with having a variable interest rate, but they are very small.
If interest rates were to fall less than expected, because something happens – it will still be good to have a variable rate.
"Don't lock in for too long"
According to SBAB's latest forecast of interest rates and different binding periods – it was cheapest to choose a variable interest rate.
But the bank also saw that it wasn't much more expensive with a fixed interest rate, for four and five years.
However, Christina Sahlberg doesn't think you should lock in the interest rate for too long.
If you're feeling unwell and have anxiety about the mortgage interest rate, you can lock it in for one or two years.
But don't lock in for too long. Then you'll end up paying way too much.
She also warns against choosing a combination of variable and fixed interest rates.
That's super stupid. Then you're stuck with the variable interest rate and can't switch banks because you've fixed half. So it's better to fix everything for a shorter period or not fix at all.
