WITH the spectre of inflation looming since the pound began its post-Brexit-vote slide, the chances are that UK interest rates could begin to rise over the course of this year.

While that would be good news for savers, who have suffered near-zero rates for the best part of a decade, for mortgage holders it would be less pleasing, with providers certain to raise their rates too.

It is no wonder, then, that the latest figures from the Bank of England showed a sharp increase in the number of homeowners looking to remortgage at the end of 2016. In November - the most recent month figures are available for - a total of 45,683 remortgage deals were approved in the UK, up four per cent from 43,778 the previous month.

For Mark Dyason, director of brokerage Edinburgh Mortgage Advice, this is a reflection of homeowners looking to lock in deals at current low rates ahead of any potential rises in the near future.

"There is a growing sense among existing UK homeowners that the first rate rise for a very long time could be on the horizon,” he said.

“More recently, this feeling has been compounded by the quarter point rate hike in the US in December.

"Most people now accept that rates are unlikely to get any better and are taking action to lock in to the competitive rates that are still, for the time being, available.”

A number of providers are looking to corner the remortgage market by starting the new year with a range of new incentives. Leeds Building Society and Halifax are among them, with the former unveiling new low rates specifically for remortgagers while the latter is offering £500 cashback to anyone looking to switch from another lender.

According to Jaedon Green, director of product and distribution at Leeds Building Society, the remortgaging trend is set to continue as homeowners “look to take advantage of the historic low interest rate”.

For Helen Saxon, chief product analyst at financial website MoneySavingExpert, consumers may have to move fast, though, with some of the cheapest products already being withdrawn from the market.

“We have seen the first signs that mortgage rates might be on their way back up from today’s rock-bottom rates,” she said.

“A few of the cheapest deals, especially longer fixes, have been pulled from the market in recent weeks and their replacements are just that little bit more expensive.”

Longer fixes are mortgages where the repayment rate is fixed for a term of five or ten years and, while these tend to be more expensive than the popular two-year fixes that dominate the market, in certain circumstances they can be cheaper.

According to personal finance data service Moneyfacts, the best three-year fixe rate currently on offer is from Virgin Money, which charges a rate of 1.94 per cent to anyone borrowing up to 85 per cent of their property’s value. For anyone looking to borrow up to 65 per cent of their property’s value, however, the same provider has a five-year mortgage with a rate of 1.89 per cent.

While for those with higher loan-to-value ratios a five or ten-year fix could mean paying a bit more each month, certainty of payments is seen as the main benefit of longer fixes, especially in an environment when the Bank of England base rate is expected to rise.

Brian Murphy, head of lending at the Mortgage Advice Bureau, said an added attraction is that many lenders have relaxed their early repayment penalties, something that has put many borrowers off fixing for longer periods because they may want to move house within the 10-year timeframe - unless a mortgage is portable a house sale within the fixed term would trigger an early repayment charge.

“We have seen a rise in people fixing their mortgage for longer terms, with an increase in five-year fixes as well as an appetite for 10-year fixed deals, possibly as some lenders have reduced the length of early repayment charges down to five years, therefore providing more flexibility in the longer term,” Murphy said.

However, Sally Laker, managing director of brokerage network Mortgage Intelligence noted that going for a longer fix now will only pay off financially if interest rates do actually go up.

“If interest rates stay low for the next two years despite the predictions today, taking the cheaper two-year deal would have saved money and the opportunity to still take a low five or ten-year rate could still be available,” she said.

“It boils down to each individual customer’s attitude to risk and understanding the impact on their finances if rates start to rise. If the impact would be substantial, fixing would at least provide certainty and at the moment the rates for all terms are low.”

Saxon at MoneySavingExpert agreed, noting that while “fixing, and fixing longer, gives certainty of what you’ll pay month in, month out”, ultimately the decision of whether to do so will depend on “what’s important to you, whether you’re planning to move home in the coming few years, and what you think will happen with interest rates”.