Increased number of sub 4% fixes surfacing this week, says Moneyfacts – Mortgage Finance Gazette

The week saw an increased number of sub-4% fixed deals enter the market, however the average rate across all LTVs for two-, three- and five-year fixes remained above 5%.

Among the significant rate cuts across fixed rates this week were reductions of up to 0.37% by Halifax, 0.35% from TSB and 0.20% from Virgin Money.

The majority of rate moves this week were made by building societies, Moneyfacts spokesperson Caitlyn Eastell reports.

“Those to reduce fixed rates included Principality Building Society by up to 0.54%, Nottingham Building Society by up to 0.20%, Leek Building Society reduced its SVR by 0.25% and also launched new fixed rates, Coventry Building Society reduced its SVR by 0.25%, Tipton & Coseley Building Society reduced its SVR by 0.15%, selected fixed rates by up to 0.30 as well as withdrawing and replacing fixed rates for house purchase customers,” says Eastell.

“Leeds Building Society made two moves to reduce by up to 0.16% and by up to 0.30%, Skipton Building Society by up to 0.29%, Scottish Building Society reduced its SVR by 0.25%, Nationwide Building Society by up to 0.20%, Progressive Building Society reduced selected fixed rates for two-years by up to 0.65% as well as launching a handful of new deals, Cumberland Building Society reduced fixed rates for house purchase customers by up to 0.20% and by up to 0.45% for remortgage customers, Darlington Building Society reduced by up to 0.20% and Teachers Building Society by up to 0.50%.”

Few lenders increased rates this week, 9 to 16 August, but among those who did were Tipton & Coseley Building Society, who increased rates by up to 0.10% on selected discounted variable rates, Virgin Money by up to 0.10% and Aldermore by up to 0.20% as well as moving to withdraw some deals.

“Not to go unnoticed, a few more lenders moved to reduce rates, ” adds Eastell,  “which included Yorkshire Bank by up to 0.25% on its SVR and variable rates and by up to 0.20% on selected fixed rates, The Co-Operative Bank by up to 0.15% as well as withdrawing its large loan fixed rate mortgages, Clydesdale Bank by up to 0.25% on its SVR and by up to 0.20% on selected fixed rates, Pepper Money by up to 0.29%, MPowered mortgages by up to 0.22% and Aldermore by up to 0.20%.”

“Among the rate cuts, there were some eye-catching deals to surface this week, including a five-year fixed rate deal from Virgin Money, priced at 3.99% and available at 75% loan-to-value for all borrower types, it carries a £300 cashback incentive on completion, and charges a £995 product fee, so this could be an attractive choice for borrowers looking to save on the overall true cost of their mortgage.”

Eastell says it would not be surprising to see lenders continue to make reductions across both variable and fixed rates in their ranges.