Several major lenders have recently lowered their interest rates on new fixed mortgages, bringing much-needed relief to homebuyers and those looking to remortgage.
Lenders, including Barclays, HSBC, MPowered Mortgages, TSB and Livemore, the specialist mortgage lender for people aged over 50, have rolled out a range of new fixed-rate deals with reduced costs.
These reductions are likely to increase competition among lenders, helping to contribute towards to a continuation of favourable mortgage rates for consumers.
Barclays, for example, has slashed rates by up to 0.45 percentages points for new and existing customers, also offering a market leading remortgage rate of 4.32% for a five-year fix, down from 4.47%*.
HSBC’s fixed-rate mortgages for residential and buy-to-let borrowers are also seeing a cost reduction, offering two-year fixed rates for residential remortgage from 4.88% and five-year equivalent deals from 4.48%**.
Encouraged by these reductions, would-be homebuyers who put their plans on hold last year due to elevated mortgage rates are now realising now is a great time to make a move. This in turn is causing a significant increase in demand, and as a result, house prices across the UK continue to trend upwards; according to property portal Rightmove, the average price of property coming to the market for sale reached a new record of £375,131 in May – an increase of 0.8% over the last month***.
Although the Bank of England has yet to trim the Bank Rate, which is still sitting at 5.25%, experts and lenders are looking for that rate to be reduced at some point over the summer, which will bring buyers further relief**.
Although rates are still elevated, this significant reduction offers hope to buyers and homeowners, helping make their dream home that much more achievable.
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