By Tony Booth

In this economic climate, a month is a long time - and since the last mortgage product review in May, things have certainly changed in the marketplace. If there is one single message to be gleaned from this month's product update, it's that rates for some of the most popular and most advantageous loans are heading upwards.

Last month and the month before that, I advised investors acquire the best fixed-rate loan they could, as rates were bound to rise before too long. Sadly, that prediction has now come to fruition. Over the last two weeks, The Woolwich, Northern Rock, Barclays, The Nationwide, Abbey, Halifax and Alliance & Leicester have all hiked up their fixed-rate mortgage products. In fact, The Nationwide has raised their fixed-rate mortgages twice in as many weeks. The main reason is that fixed-rate deals have become extremely popular, with over 90 per cent of all borrowers now aiming to safeguard the near future by opting for this particular type of mortgage.

And rates have certainly not plateaud yet. According to those in the know, more product rate rises are still to come - and these will be despite an apparent stagnation in the bank base rate. So, if you have yet to make your move on a fixed-rate product, I suggest you do it earlier rather than later to get the best of what is still on offer.

It is comforting to read that mortgage approvals rose to a thirteen month high in May and the market seems to be adjusting itself to the promise of a genuine recovery hovering somewhere over the horizon. A busier market is good news for everyone, but lenders are becoming just a little anxious about whether this will be a consistent recovery - or just a bit of sunshine before storm clouds darken the doorstep once again.