𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

There are some signs of life in the mortgage market in what could be good news for borrowers with deals coming back to the market and some lenders cutting borrowing costs.

Since the Iran war, big lenders have been pulling deals from the market and ratcheting up rates.

The average 2-year fix was 4.83 per cent at the start of March and is 5.88 per cent today.

Meanwhile, the average 5-year fix has risen from 4.95 per cent at the start of March and is at 5.77 per cent today.

But those rates seem to have plateaued for now and some lenders have felt bold enough to offer some cheaper deals. That’s because money markets think the Bank of England is less likely than previously thought to raise interest rates to curtail inflation, making costs cheaper for mortgage lenders.

There are also more products available than there was just weeks ago. A total of 809 deals have returned to the market since it hit a low of 5,856 available products on 24 March. However, this is still 973 (12.7 per cent) fewer than before the conflict in Iran began.

Adam French, head of consumer finance at Moneyfacts, said: “Money markets are now pricing for fewer base rate hikes than they were a few weeks ago and swap rates have fallen back towards 4 per cent from highs of around 4.4 per cent.

“This has given several lenders, such as Santander, Atom Bank and Skipton Building Society, the headroom to make a few meaningful cuts over the last few days.”

Santander has cut up to 0.28 percentage points from some of its first-time buyer deals.

TSB, Coventry and Skipton all did something similar.

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Brokers say others will follow, unless there appears to be an about turn from the Bank and rate rises are back on the cards.

Peter Stimson of MPowered said: “The Bank of England meeting on the 30th April in what is likely to be one of the most important meetings for many years. Whilst they are widely expected to hold, the vote and the minutes, will set the direction for swap rates in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, canny borrowers may want to check out the option of a tracker rate.

“The ‘forgotten’ mortgage product of the last 15 years, trackers are available at just Bank Base rate plus 0.21% (3.96 per cent) and usually come with no Early Repayment Charge’s (ERC’s) allowing you to switch to a fix, as/when/fix rates reset to an appropriate level.”

Charlotte Harrison, CEO of Homes at Skipton, said life remains tough for many.

“Essential living costs remain stubbornly high, and even before recent global events, around 40 per cent of would‑be first‑time buyers were expected to face housing-related costs they simply couldn’t afford.

“While there have been early signs of improvement, progress remains fragile, with ongoing pressures on energy prices, inflation and interest rates potentially slowing the pace in the months ahead.”