The cost of both two- and five-year fixed rate mortgage products continued to tumble this week, with some of the biggest names on the high street cutting rates.
On average two-year fixes were down by 7bps over the week, with five-year fixes down by 6bps according Moneyfacts’ latest rate watch. These is across all LTV bands.
Some of the biggest lenders to cut rates included Barclays Mortgage, which reduced rates by up to 34bps, Halifax (up to 30bps), TSB (up to 20bps) and NatWest (12 bps).
Accord made some of the biggest cuts, reducing rates by up to 55bps this week. Meanwhile both Yorkshire Building Society and United Trust Bank cut rates by up to 45bps. Clydesdale Bank and LiveMore Capita also cut selected rates by more than 30bps.
Moneyfacts finance expert Rachel Springall says: “There was a variety of fixed rate mortgage reductions this week, including some notable moves by some of the biggest lenders in the country.”
She added that there were also some “eye-catching deals” to surface this week — including a two-year fixed rate deal from West Brom Building Society, priced at 4.99% and available at 90% LTV for house purchase customers. This includes a free valuation with the facility to add the £999 product fee to the mortgage advance.
Moneyfacts noted that the number of lenders dropping fixed rates further below the 4% benchmark caused a stir this week.
Springall adds: “Outside of the lowest rate deals there have also been some competitive cost-saving packages launched onto the market, including those at higher loan-to-value ratios.
“These moves instil a positive sentiment in the mortgage market for both new borrowers and those looking to refinance.
“As we edge closer to October it will be interesting to see if lenders will continue to push their margins down, considering swap rates are presently lower than they were a month ago.”
