The Nationwide Building Society have announced that they will cut their mortgage rates by up to 0.29%. Nationwide had not been quick to lower rates over the last few weeks. They will hope that, by making this cut, they will be further up the mortgage best buy tables.
Abbey and Alliance and Leicester have again made changes to their mortgages. Abbey have introduced a three-year fixed rate at 4.89%, which is available via brokers and designed to get borrowers to remortgage off of standard variable rates (SVR).
Some of the smaller building societies have been increasing their rates. Two weeks ago Accord Mortgages wrote to their members to tell them that the standard variable rate was being increased to 5.99% from 5.34%. With market conditions still difficult for many lenders, we could see more SVR hikes over the coming months.
Abbey have also increased the maximum loan sizes from £250,000 to £550,000 on many of their 85% loan-to-value mortgages.
There are some excellent mortgage deals available at the moment. However, it is unlikely that many of them will get much cheaper. When a particularly low rate becomes available it is important those looking for a mortgage quickly take advantage of it.
Aaron Strutt, a broker at Trinity Financial Group, says: “Many of the market leading two-year fixed and tracker rates are as low as they are going to go. More mortgage lenders have been cutting short term rates and the average two-year fixed rate is now 4.86%.
“Base rate tracker mortgage continue to offer the best value for money. Trinity Financial can access rates as low as 1.99%. This is great value for money, especially for those who want to keep monthly costs to a minimum. The lowest two-year fixed rate we can access is 3.15%.
“Despite the cost of longer term mortgages not being as competitive as they have been, there are still options available. Trinity Financial can access the lowest five-year fixed rate in the market at 4.89%. This is available to those with a 20% deposit and a clean credit history. The arrangement fee is a very competitive £588.”
December 14, 2009.
