The UK property market seems to keep confounding the pundits. Property prices in the UK have rocketed in the past decade or so and, recently, many experts have been predicted not only a slowdown but also a downturn. It just doesn’t seem to be happening.

Recent data from the Land Registry shows that in February 2007 the average house price had risen by 7.7% over the previous 12 months. Certain regions had performed even better, with Blaenau Gwent in Wales seeing an average rise of 13.4%.

In simple terms, this means that the longer you wait to buy a property, the more you might have to pay. Of course, no one wants to rush into buying a property but if you have an idea of what you are likely to be spending it pays to do some research up front.

Many people opt for a fixed-rate mortgage because they prefer the security of knowing what their payments are going to be. If this is you, then you might be interested to hear that Direct Line has three competitive fixed rate mortgages available – a three-year fixed-rate mortgage being the middle choice, with two-year and five-year options as well.

The great thing is you can get a head start on your house-hunting by using our online mortgage calculator to work out exactly what your monthly repayments would be for all three mortgages, both now and in the future.

You can find out more about our fixed-rate mortgages online. And if you take out a Direct Line mortgage online, we’ll give you a discount off our best home insurance price.