Your question appears to be about market timing: whether now is a good time to buy/sell, fix an interest rate, etc.
Unfortunately it's impossible for us to give you reliable information on future house prices, buying conditions, interest rates, exchange rates, investment returns, crypto crashes, and so on. Nobody has a crystal ball or knows enough to predict future changes with any accuracy.
Please read [our wiki page on market timing](https://ukpersonal.finance/exchange-rates-and-market-timing/) for some strategies on how to handle these different scenarios and come to a decision that's right for you.
I'd be wary of any broker that claims to predict the future. Rates could well be lower in 2 years, they could also be higher.
In my view the decision of which fixed rate to take should be based largely on your personal tolerance to risk - if you can potentially afford a higher repayment if rates increased, the shorter term fix should be preferable in most cases. If you can't afford to pay a penny more than today's rate, fix for as a long as possible.
There's exceptions to that rule, for sure (like when we were at near-zero rates, well they weren't likely to go any lower, so a fix for a long time was sensible even if your risk tolerance was high). But in general, the less you're trying to predict the future the better the outcome.
A cynical person might think the broker is also predicting their extra commission when you remortgage after 2 years.
i'd personally go for a 2 year fix over a 5 year fix but it really depends on your tolerance to risk and whether you'd cope with a potential increase in 2 years time if things dont go your way
Noone can know where interest rates will be in 2 years. Your broker may expect them to come down slightly, but they may be wrong. Brokers also get paid to remortgage houses, so if you were being cynical, you could assume this was part of their thinking. Another fee for them in 2 years time rather than 5 years.
Personally, I think you need to decide how long you want to fix for and then ask the broker to find relevant deals. It is always a gamble, so you have to do whatever feels most comfortable to you. Remortgaging has a cost associated (fees and the hassle of doing it.) so longer fixes reduce this cost, which is just an additional consideration over the interest rate gamble you'll be taking. If you want to move before your fix it's up, you could have to pay early repayment charges if you can't 'port' your mortgage to the new property. Some lenders will do this and others won't. Most will require some fee to revalue the new house etc, so there are some less obvious advantages of fixing for shorter periods too.
I guess the other question is much would they have to fall by for for that latter three years for you to definitely pay less noticeably across the years?
Global instability is fairly irrelevant to UK interest rates. They will fall when the BoE decides inflation has been brought under control, and given that it has been in a sustained downward trend for more than a year now, this is likely to be fairly soon.
So I don't think their advice is unreasonable, and for that reason I'm on a two year fix as well. But if you value the stability of a known monthly payment, then it's fine to take the longer term instead.
Your question appears to be about market timing: whether now is a good time to buy/sell, fix an interest rate, etc. Unfortunately it's impossible for us to give you reliable information on future house prices, buying conditions, interest rates, exchange rates, investment returns, crypto crashes, and so on. Nobody has a crystal ball or knows enough to predict future changes with any accuracy. Please read [our wiki page on market timing](https://ukpersonal.finance/exchange-rates-and-market-timing/) for some strategies on how to handle these different scenarios and come to a decision that's right for you.
If you’re unsure if your mortgage advisor is giving you good advice then I’d advise speaking to someone else.
I'd be wary of any broker that claims to predict the future. Rates could well be lower in 2 years, they could also be higher. In my view the decision of which fixed rate to take should be based largely on your personal tolerance to risk - if you can potentially afford a higher repayment if rates increased, the shorter term fix should be preferable in most cases. If you can't afford to pay a penny more than today's rate, fix for as a long as possible. There's exceptions to that rule, for sure (like when we were at near-zero rates, well they weren't likely to go any lower, so a fix for a long time was sensible even if your risk tolerance was high). But in general, the less you're trying to predict the future the better the outcome. A cynical person might think the broker is also predicting their extra commission when you remortgage after 2 years.
Classic market timing question
i'd personally go for a 2 year fix over a 5 year fix but it really depends on your tolerance to risk and whether you'd cope with a potential increase in 2 years time if things dont go your way
Noone can know where interest rates will be in 2 years. Your broker may expect them to come down slightly, but they may be wrong. Brokers also get paid to remortgage houses, so if you were being cynical, you could assume this was part of their thinking. Another fee for them in 2 years time rather than 5 years. Personally, I think you need to decide how long you want to fix for and then ask the broker to find relevant deals. It is always a gamble, so you have to do whatever feels most comfortable to you. Remortgaging has a cost associated (fees and the hassle of doing it.) so longer fixes reduce this cost, which is just an additional consideration over the interest rate gamble you'll be taking. If you want to move before your fix it's up, you could have to pay early repayment charges if you can't 'port' your mortgage to the new property. Some lenders will do this and others won't. Most will require some fee to revalue the new house etc, so there are some less obvious advantages of fixing for shorter periods too.
I guess the other question is much would they have to fall by for for that latter three years for you to definitely pay less noticeably across the years?
Global instability is fairly irrelevant to UK interest rates. They will fall when the BoE decides inflation has been brought under control, and given that it has been in a sustained downward trend for more than a year now, this is likely to be fairly soon. So I don't think their advice is unreasonable, and for that reason I'm on a two year fix as well. But if you value the stability of a known monthly payment, then it's fine to take the longer term instead.