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NatWest is lowering mortgage rates by up to 0.37% tomorrow across its residential and buy-to-let mortgage ranges.

The lender is cutting prices across its new business, existing customers and additional borrowing products. The move follows reductions from Halifax, HSBC and a number of other lenders last week.

On Friday, Moneyfacts revealed that average fixed rates had edged downwards week on week for the first time since the outbreak of war in Iran at the end of February.

The mortgage rate cuts at NatWest are extensive, covering property purchase, remortgage and product transfer for landlords and owner occupiers. Its biggest reduction is to a fee-free five-year fixed rate for residential house purchases with a 5% deposit, which is falling by 0.37%. Many of its other rates have been lowered by more than 0.20%.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: “NatWest is lowering its tracker margins as well as its fixes, which is nice to see because some other lenders have raised their trackers just as they have become more popular.

“NatWest is reducing its two-year fix by 0.10% to around 4.65%, marginally undercutting Nationwide’s current best-buy deals. NatWest's five-year fixes for borrowers with larger deposits also undercut Nationwide, starting at just over 4.75%. The mortgage market remains in a difficult position, given the latest developments in the Middle East and how much they affect mortgage pricing.”

Natwest's lowest mortgage rates are available to borrowers putting down a 40% deposit; they have a £1,499 arrangement fee with a £1,999,999 maximum mortgage loan size. Nationwide's lowest rates are typically available for mortgages between £300,000 and £5 million. 

Speak to a Trinity Financial adviser today

The mortgage market moves fast — and the right advice can make a significant difference to the rate and deal you secure. Get in touch with our team to discuss your options.

Call Trinity Financial on 0808 1642174 to secure a fixed or tracker rate mortgage, book a consultation, or use our appointment calendar

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change. It is for general information purposes and is not advice.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

The volume of remortgage applications surged 46% in Q1, prompting overall mortgage activity to jump by a quarter, figures from Stonebridge show.

The mortgage firms' data highlights that in the first quarter of 2026, overall mortgage activity rose strongly with 24.6% more applications year-on-year, driven largely by a 45.8% surge in remortgaging activity as rafts of borrowers continued to come off ultra-low pandemic era mortgage products. Five years ago in March 2021 as the pandemic driven ‘race for space’ was well underway, effective interest rates on new mortgage borrowing fell to just 1.85%.

The Bank of England’s Credit conditions Survey for Q4 had predicted in January that remortgaging activity would increase in the first quarter while secured lending activity for house purchase was expected to fall.  

How many mortgages take fixed or tracker rates? 

Stonebridge's MMI shows mortgage applications for property purchases dipped 3.6% annually in Q1. Meanwhile, the share of variable rate mortgages climbed 0.8ppts from 4.7% to 5.5% YoY, with fixed rate deals remaining by far the most popular at 94.5% of the market.

Mortgage terms of 2 years have been increasing in popularity. Their share rose by a quarter from 51.6% of all home loans to 65.2%. The share of 5 year mortgages fell from 39.4% to 29%. 

Borrowing costs fell annually, despite the impact of rising swap rates due to the Iran conflict in March. The average interest rate dropped 0.43 year-on-year from 4.74% to 4.31%. Loan-to-values remained relatively stable, falling just 1ppt to 61%. This means most homeowners have 39% equity in their property. 

Remortgaging activity is expected to remain strong throughout the year. UK Finance reported in December that 1.6 million fixed-rate mortgages expired in 2025, with a further 1.8 million due to end this year.

Rob Clifford, Chief Executive at Stonebridge, said: “We know many borrowers locked into attractive five-year rates during the pandemic. Now that so many of those consumers are reaching the end of the deals they grabbed at that time, we are naturally seeing huge demand for advice on refinancing options.

“That will continue throughout this year, with plenty of lenders dynamically pricing both product transfers and remortgage deals to win market share. We’re likely to see a reversal in rate volatility in the second half of the year and the popularity of variable or tracker rates might increase. If the energy crisis is short lived, a variable product would allow borrowers to capitalise on a falling base rate once the conflict subsides but this is a time when impartial and expert mortgage advice is worth its weight in gold.”

Source: Stonebridge Mortgage Market Index

Speak to a Trinity Financial adviser today

The mortgage market moves fast — and the right advice can make a significant difference to the rate and deal you secure. Get in touch with our team to discuss your options.

Call Trinity Financial on 0808 1642174 to secure a fixed or tracker rate mortgage, book a consultation, or use our appointment calendar

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change. It is for general information purposes and is not advice.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

Leeds Building Society has boosted its Income Plus mortgage range — increasing the maximum loan-to-income ratio from 5.5x to 6x and opening it up to home movers and remortgagers, not just first-time buyers.

The lender says that amid life changes and rising costs, the number of potential mortgage borrowers who need more flexibility is increasing. These changes to mortgage criteria provide more ways to help borrowers at each stage of their homebuying and mortgage journeys.

The key Leeds Income Plus mortgage include: 

• Up to 6 x loan to income available for first-time buyers (FTB), home movers and remortgages with a minimum household income of £75,000
• Up to 5.5 x loan to income available for home movers and remortgagers with a minimum household income of £50,000 and FTBs with a minimum household income of £30,000
• Minimum 5% deposit required for FTBs
• Minimum 10% deposit required for home movers and remortgagers (loan-to-value limits apply to remortgage, dependent on capital raising purpose)
• Available for new build (subject to limits) and self-employed applicants
• Products are available on five-year fixed-rate deals

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "Most of the lenders offer their larger income stretch mortgages to first-time buyers and higher earners, but they don’t normally issue them to remortgage customers, so it is good to see the more generous mortgages being available for remortgages as well.

"You would have to be quite brave to take six times your salary at the moment, unless you really like the property you want to buy, especially if you can only just meet the affordability requirements. More lenders issuing 5.5- and 6-times-salary mortgages are finding they are so popular that they need to issue more smaller-income-multiple mortgages to balance the books. This shows the growing need for income stretching and how it is helping all types of borrowers get on the property ladder.

"The Leeds Income Plus five-year fixed mortgages start from just over 5% with a 15% deposit, which isn’t too bad, especially given the scale of mortgage price hikes we have seen. With a household income of £75,000, clients may be able to borrow up to 6x their income. Or with a household income of at least £50,000 (£30,000 for first time buyers), they may be able to borrow up to 5.5x their income. This gives them extra flexibility to buy, move or remortgage. Most of the big lenders offer 5.5 times salary mortgages now and some provide six times salary like HSBC, Barclays and Bank of Ireland."

Speak to a Trinity Financial adviser today

The mortgage market moves fast — and the right advice can make a significant difference to the rate and deal you secure. Get in touch with our team to discuss your options.

Call Trinity Financial on 0808 1642174 to secure a fixed or tracker rate mortgage, book a consultation, or use our appointment calendar

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change. It is for general information purposes and is not advice.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

Coventry Building Society, Santander and TSB have all announced that they will be improving their mortgage rates, with TSB making the biggest price reductions of up to 0.45%.

Santander has announced that on Thursday, 16 April, it will reduce selected first-time buyer and home mover fixed and tracker rates by up to 0.30%, as well as its buy-to-let purchase fixed rates.

TSB is lowering its two-year fixed house purchase rates by up to 0.45%, while raising the price of some mortgages available to its existing customers by up to 0.15%. 

Coventry is also lowering rates, but it has not said by how much, while Bank of Ireland is launching new rates across its new business residential and Bespoke mortgage product ranges at 9 am on Thursday, 16 April.

Summary of Santander's mortgage changes:

New business fixed rate reductions for first-time buyers and homemovers - selected fixed rates are reducing by up to 0.28%. Santander's large-loan home mover fixed rates are being reduced by up to 0.12%. Tracker rate reductions for first-time buyers and home movers include selected tracker rates reduced by up to 0.30%. Also, large loan home mover tracker rates are reducing by 0.15%. Buy-to-let property purchase - selected fixed rates reducing by up to 0.25%.

Santander is also making product transfers and fixed-rate price reductions for its existing customers. All residential 80% and 85% LTV one-, two-, three-, and five-year fixed rates are reducing by up to 0.19%. All 90% loan-to-value one and 2-year fixed rates are also reducing by up to 0.25%.

Does this mean fixed-rate mortgages will keep getting better?

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "We have a rare bit of good news in the mortgage market with Santander announcing that it is lowering the price of its fixed and tracker rates. Many of the bigger lenders have not changed their rates for a few weeks now, which is something we have not been used to over the last few months. While rates are coming down, they could go up again if there is more global bad news. This change from Santander hopefully means that other lenders will bring their rates down a bit as well. 

"TSB is following Santander by making some chunky rate reductions, which is very welcome news for anyone on the hunt for a more competitively priced mortgage. It seems likely the other big lenders will announce rate cuts soon. TSB has made a few 0.5% rate rises recently, so it is great to see the bank cutting its prices again.

"The most competitively priced tracker-rate mortgages still look like a good bet because they are so much lower than many of the two-, three-, and five-year fixes."

Speak to a Trinity Financial adviser today

The mortgage market moves fast — and the right advice can make a significant difference to the rate and deal you secure. Get in touch with our team to discuss your options.

Call Trinity Financial on 0808 1642174 to secure a fixed or tracker rate mortgage, book a consultation, or use our appointment calendar

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change. It is for general information purposes and is not advice.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

Higher mortgage rates are forcing landlords to adapt by taking more interest-only mortgages, cash injections and shorter fixed mortgages. This is according to Hamptons’ analysis of Connells Group data.

By early April, 43% of all new buy-to-let lending was agreed at rates of 5% or above, up from just 8% in January. In response to higher borrowing costs, three-quarters (78.4%) of landlords are moving towards interest-only mortgages, up from 71.1% in January 2026.

Four in ten (40%) landlords remortgaging on interest-only deals injected cash, paying down an average of £30,100 to access more competitively priced buy-to-let rates.

The annual pace of rental growth on newly let homes accelerated in March, with rents up by 1.0% across Great Britain, driven by a 4.1% uplift in Inner London.

What is happening in the buy-to-let market?

Buy-to-let landlords are under pressure from multiple angles at the moment, especially newer landlords with smaller property portfolios and less equity in their properties. 

Mortgage costs have risen, and while they remain elevated, compliance costs are increasing and rental growth is no longer as reliable across the market. Many of the buy-to-lets our brokers arrange are often done through limited companies.

How are landlords lowering their monthly costs?

One of the main ways landlords are trying to cut costs is by reviewing their mortgages more actively. Rather than simply allowing a deal to expire and stay on their lender’s standard variable rate, many are refinancing, remortgaging or choosing product transfers to keep costs under control.

Do landlords really have to pay 5%?

No, not all landlords need to pay rates as high as 5%. Some lenders are still offering pretty good buy-to-let rates, even if they have higher setup fees. For example, BM Solutions has two-year fixes around 3.75% and five-year fixes around 4.5, both rates have 3% arrangement fees. Other lenders have slightly higher rates with lower fees, and there are cheaper deals for energy-efficient homes. 

The Mortgage Works has a one-year fix at just over 3.3% with a 2% arrangement fee for landlords with a 25% deposit, and it also has very low exit fees. Its two-year trackers start from around 3.50% with 3% fees.

These high-fee and low-rate mortgages give landlords some breathing space, especially if the rental income is tight, they need to remortgage to take out cash, or they are reassessing their options and weighing up whether to exit the property market.

Speak to a Trinity Financial adviser today

The mortgage market moves fast — and the right advice can make a significant difference to the rate and deal you secure. Get in touch with our team to discuss your options.

Call Trinity Financial on 0808 1642174 to secure a fixed or tracker rate mortgage, book a consultation, or use our appointment calendar

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change. It is for general information purposes and is not advice.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate most Buy to Let Mortgages

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

Nationwide Building Society is offering some of the most competitively priced two, three, five and ten-year fixed-rate mortgages. Although Nationwide's two-year tracker mortgage undercuts its fixes because it is priced at 0.39% over the current 3.75% Bank of England base rate.

Nationwide's 4.66% two-year fixed rate is available for mortgages between £300,000 and £5 million, and there is a £1,499 arrangement fee. Applicants will need a 40% deposit to qualify, and the rate is around 4.70%, with a £999 fee for mortgages up to £300,000. 

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "Most of the lenders are offering higher rates than 4.66%, although there are some lower trackers. Nationwide's three and five-year fixes are priced around 4.8%, but its trackers are lower. The tracker also has a lower arrangement fee, and it is available to borrowers with a 40% deposit raising between £25,000 and £5 million. The next Bank of England base rate decision is on 30 April 2026. 

"There haven't been as many mortgage rate changes over the last week, but according to the latest UK mortgage trends treasury report, the average shelf-life of a mortgage in March fell to a record low of just eight days, down from 14 days in February."

Moneyfacts finance expert Rachel Springall was quoted as saying: “The tide could turn once the markets feel more confident about future rate pricing, but borrowers who are due to come off a deal soon will be incredibly frustrated by mortgage rate hikes. If someone took out a typical mortgage now, compared to the start of March, it would cost them around £1,800 a year more in repayments on a two-year fixed deal.”

Representative example for Nationwide's 4.66% rate: A capital and interest Nationwide mortgage of £500,000 payable over 30 years, initially on a 4.66% fixed rate for two years and then on a variable rate of 6.49% for the remaining 28 years, would require 24 monthly repayments of £2,589.00 followed by 336 monthly repayments of £3,137.56. The total amount repayable would be £1,116,356.16.

This amount is illustrative and may vary, made up of the loan amount, plus interest (£614,842.63) and £1,499 (product fee), £65 (final repayment charge), £15 (completion fee). The overall cost for comparison is 6.2% APRC representative.

Lending solutions with Trinity Financial

Are you looking to buy a property and require expert advice? We’re here to help you find a solution – no matter how complex your circumstances. Our expert brokers have extensive experience providing creative solutions to secure mortgages for our clients.

Call Trinity Financial on 0808 1642174 to secure a fixed or tracker rate mortgage, book a consultation or use our appointment calendar

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change. It is for general information purposes and is not advice.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage