Average mortgage rates reach new low of 3.43pc The figures are compiled using data from around 300 mortgage lenders and administrators from across the UK. The Bank only started collecting the data in 2007, but industry experts said average rates had never been lower. Ray Boulger, of the independent mortgage adviser John Charcol, said: "It's safe to say these are the lowest average rates we've ever had, partly because the Bank of England's base rate is the lowest it has ever been. But since these figures were compiled the rates have started edging up again, so for anyone thinking about remortgaging it acts as a reminder that switching to a fixed rate mortgage is a good thing to do. There is little merit in hanging around because rates are not going to get any cheaper. A spokesman for the Council of Mortgage Lenders said: "Such low rates are keeping costs down for existing borrowers and they are also enabling people to get on the housing ladder more affordably, even though house prices remain high. Interest rates will remain low for the foreseeable future, but both householders and lenders need to stress-test an ability to service higher rates at some point in the future. A series of reports in recent months have shown a burst of activity in the housing market following the launch of Government schemes such as Funding for Lending and Help to Buy, which have increased the availability of loans and started a price war among lenders. The findings were released on the same day that the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) reported that a balance of 40 per cent of surveyors saw house prices rise rather than fall in July, the highest proportion recorded in almost seven years.