Mortgage rates have been cut by lenders continually after Donald Trump’s tariff plans led to predictions interest rates would fall quicker than previously expected
Nationwide has cut more of its mortgage rates and is now the cheapest on the market for some customers, as lenders continue to engage in a “price war”.
The building society cut rates by up to 0.3 percentage points on Wednesday morning, and its new rates include a 3.84 per cent deal for homebuyers with a 40 per cent deposit.
This rate is available on five and two-year fixes. It betters the current cheapest rate for buyers of 3.88 per cent on five-year deals., though it comes with a relatively large £1,499 fee.
Two-year deals are available from Lloyds at 3.75 per cent, though they require customers to be Club Lloyds members.
Some cheaper deals are also available from Halifax for those remortgaging too, including a two-year fix at a rate of 3.79 per cent for those remortgaging with equity of 40 per cent or more of their property value.
The cuts come as multiple mortgage lenders continue to slash their rates.
MPowered Mortgages has cut its two, three and five year fixed rates by up to 0.17 percentage points
Lender Gen H has also cut its rates for the fourth time in as many weeks.
Experts say lenders are engaging in a price war, ahead of an expected cut to the Bank of England base rate on Thursday.
Aaron Strutt of Trinity Financial said: “These rates are going to top the best buy tables which is great news for borrowers especially if they are buying a home.
“It is fair to say that the lenders are having a price war at the moment and they are trying to issue more mortgages. It has been surprising to see the rates drop so much.
“Rates clearly go up and down but for the moment they are still getting more competitively priced and for all types or borrowers with ranging deposit sizes.”
Nick Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol brokers added: “Nationwide really are holding back no punches with their recent mortgage pricing, reacting quickly to every competitor punch with significant effect.
“We saw HSBC repricing twice last week, and I’m sure we’ll see further movement from them and other high street lenders over the next week.”
Mortgage lenders have been dropping their rates continually for the past few weeks because there are expectations that the Bank of England will cut the base rate faster than previously.
Expectations of faster rate cuts came after US President Donald Trump unveiled his plans to levy tariffs on a range of countries last month, which experts think will weigh down on the economy.
But the Bank of England cutting rates this Thursday has already been priced into lenders’ positioning, so fixed rates won’t necessarily come down further after the expected move later this week.
