The mortgage market was described as “all over the place” earlier this month, and the unpredictable nature has continued. This time, major lenders have moved to make a raft of mortgage rate cuts on plenty of products.
Over the last week, HSBC, Santander, Barclays and Coventry Building Society have all decreased rates for borrowers across their remortgage, buy-to-let (BTL) and new customer ranges.
The change of direction is reflected in that the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate is 5.8% and the five-year equivalent is 5.38%, according to Moneyfacts data.
Both rates signify a slight dip in percentage based on the day before, but experts are still scratching their heads as to whether this is a sign of things to come.
After following the suit of its fellow mortgage providers by raising rates at the beginning of March, Barclays slashed them back down. These included products on its select residential mortgages, existing borrowers and remortgage products.
Barclays’ five-year fix falls
A two-year fixed rate at 75% loan to value (LTV) with a £999 fee dropped from 4.9% to 4.7%. Existing borrowers purchasing a home can take advantage of the fixed ‘Premier’ deal, which dropped from 4.28% to 4.16%. This price comes with a £699 fee and finances 60% of your property.
A standard five-year fix at 60% LTV also reduced in price, decreasing from 4.29% to 4.17%. This deal has a fee worth £899 included too.
The remortgage deal with a £999 fee at 75% LTV stooped by 0.2% to stand at 4.7%.
Coventry lowers landlords’ rates
Meanwhile, Coventry Building Society joined the rate-cutting club with reductions for BTL customers, meaning if you’re a landlord, you’ll be able to borrow more.
The BTL reference rate is priced at 4.75% for a five-year fix, marking a huge cut from 5.5%.
A two-year fix for remortgages with no extra borrowing is 5%, which also dropped from a previous 5.5% rate.
Elsewhere, Santander announced that it will reduce selected residential rates by up to 0.12% and some BTL fixed rates by 0.21%. This will apply to purchase and remortgage options.
‘Mixed bag’ of price movement from HSBC
Rival lender HSBC cut rates for deals to finance up to 90% and 95% of borrowers’ property for two-, three- and five-year fixes.
Those rates apply whether you are switching, purchasing your property or moving home.
It wasn’t all reductions, though. The lender also introduced increases for lower-LTV products plus hikes on its residential remortgage, international residential, purchase and remortgage rates.
