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- General direction of interest rates remains uncertain
Two major mortgage lenders are raising their mortgage rates, but in different directions.
Starting tomorrow, Nationwide Building Society says it will increase its fixed rates by up to 0.15 percentage points. Meanwhile, Barclays will cut some of its home loan prices.
Nationwide currently has the cheapest five-year fix at 3.79 per cent, which could be in line with an increase to 3.94 per cent.
The move by Britain’s largest building society has not come as a surprise to mortgage brokers who feel it will try to dampen demand for its products, to avoid being overwhelmed by applications.
Two major mortgage lenders are raising their mortgage rates, but in different directions
Elliott Benson, owner of Sett Mortgages, said: “Nationwide has been leading the charge for lower rates for a long time and sometimes a lender has to increase slightly to maintain their service levels.”
Barclays’ changes represent the first major price cuts by a major lender since the start of the month.
It will reduce rates on several fixed-rate products by up to 0.26 percentage points.
This marks a move away from the rise in mortgage rates in recent weeks, with banks including Santander, TSB, NatWest, Halifax and Barclays raising home loan costs.
Barclays has focused most of its cuts on two-year arrangements, which are currently in higher demand among borrowers.
Last week, Santander revealed that 60 per cent of customers are currently choosing two-year fixed-rate mortgages in the hope that interest rates will be lower when they remortgage in two years’ time.
Less than a quarter of its clients opt for five-year fixed rate products, even though they are currently cheaper. The rest mostly choose solutions that last three or ten years, or trackers.
From tomorrow, Barclays’ lowest two-year fixing will be reduced from 4.1 per cent to 3.99 per cent, with a product fee of £899. This is for those who buy with at least a deposit of 40 percent.
Those who fix their interest for two years with a 25 per cent deposit will see the best rate available with Barclays fall from 4.3 per cent to 4.12 per cent.
Elliott Culley, director of Switch Mortgage Finance, said: ‘This is the first sign that the rate rises seen two weeks ago are starting to reverse.
‘Barclays is reducing products with lower loan-to-value ratios, which are the products that bore the brunt of increases previously.
“There is a feeling that we are resetting the clock, as the recent increases were just a blip and borrowers should have renewed confidence as a result of these changes.”
What will the Budget mean for mortgages?
Barclays’ recent rate cuts across all its mortgage products come at a crucial time, following weeks of budget speculation and changes in home loan prices.
Mortgage brokers welcomed the news. Justin Moy, managing director of EHF Mortgages, told news agency Newspage: ‘Borrowers with larger deposits looking for short-term deals will be pleased to see options available for purchases below 4 per cent, with remortgage at less than a million miles away.
‘Will all this change after this week’s budget? This week is going to be a potential rollercoaster, so get rates while you can, just in case.
There are not expected to be many mortgage or property related announcements in the Budget.
However, depending on how financial markets react to Rachel Reeves’ announcements, there could be an impact on rates.