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Nationwide for Intermediaries has launched a 3.99% five-year fixed-rate mortgage and a 4.41% two-year fix. According to Moneyfacts, the last sub-4% rates were available in April.

Nationwide’s new and most competitively priced rates are available to home movers borrowing between £299,000 and £5 million. They have £1,499 arrangement fees, and applicants will need a 40% deposit to qualify.

First-time buyers and remortgaging customers have to pay higher rates when they take a Nationwide mortgage, so they may want to shop around, particularly as the market is more competitive and borrowers have access to a wide choice of products.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "It is great news that we have a sub-4% fix again as it shows mortgage pricing is heading in the right direction, particularly after such a prolonged period of price hikes. Hopefully, more lenders will match or improve on Nationwide's product soon. 

“Nationwide’s new two-year fix at 4.41% is a decent rate that many borrowers will find more attractive than the 3.99% fix, mainly because they expect rates to come down over the next year or so. It also undercuts Barclays two-year rate which has been among the lowest deals available for a while."

Representative example: A capital and interest mortgage of £400,000 payable over 35 years, initially on a fixed rate basis at 3.99% and then on the lender's 7.99% standard variable rate for the remaining 30 years. The 3.99% rate would require 60 monthly repayments of £1,768.70 followed by 360 payments of £2,719.11. The total amount repayable would be £1,086,580.60 made up of the loan amount, plus interest £685,001.16 and £1,499 (product fee), £65 (final repayment charge), £15 (completion fee). The overall cost for comparison is 6.8% APRC representative.

Representative example: A capital and interest mortgage of £400,000 payable over 35 years, initially on a fixed rate basis at 4.41% and then on the lender's 7.99% standard variable rate for the remaining 33 years. The 4.41% rate would require 24 monthly repayments of £1,870.79 followed by 396 payments of £2,798.64. The total amount repayable would be £1,154,739.40 made up of the loan amount, plus interest (£753,159.96) and £1,499 (product fee), £65 (final repayment charge), £15 (completion fee). The overall cost for comparison is 6.8% APRC representative.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a mortgage, book a consultation, or complete our mortgage questionnaire. 

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

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

Three more big high-street banks have announced they have cut mortgage rates as loan costs continue to drift downward.

NatWest for Intermediaries has lowered a number of mortgage products by up to 0.23 percentage points, and TSB has cut deals by up to 0.15 percentage points, having already lowered rates at the start of the week. Halifax, the UK’s largest mortgage lender, has also lowered rates by up to 0.17%.

According to the latest forecasts, these mortgage rate cuts come despite the Bank of England now being deemed more likely to make its first base rate cut in September rather than August.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: “NatWest’s new mortgages are competitively priced although they are still marginally higher than Barclays leading rates.

"It is now possible to lock in for five years below 4.1% and below 4.5% if you want a two-year fix. You will typically need a larger deposit to access the cheapest deals.”

“Before NatWest, Halifax, and TSB lowered their rates, Barclays, Halifax, Nationwide, HSBC and Santander, among many others, have also made recent price reductions. Sometimes these banks have lowered them more than once.”

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a mortgage or book a consultation

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

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

The mortgage market has been much more positive in recent weeks following a host of rate reductions and better economic news.  

Barclays for Intermediaries is the latest mortgage lender to lower rates by up to 0.33%. The bank has launched a 4.08% five-year fix and a sub 4.5% two-year fix, both with £899 arrangement fees. 

These mortgages are available to Barclays premier customers who are purchasing a property. Applicants will need a clear credit history, an income of at least £75,000 and a 40% deposit to qualify. The minimum loan size is £5,000, and the maximum is £2,000,000. Rates are only up to 0.03% higher for non-premier customers. 

Nationwide, Halifax, Santander and NatWest are just some of the other big banks and building societies to improve their mortgage pricing as we edge closer to a Bank of England base rate cut. HSBC has also increased its maximum loan sizes for borrowers with all deposit sizes.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "It seems like we are heading towards getting a sub-4% five-year fix again. The lenders have been doing more to get mortgage business over the last few weeks, especially as we go into the second half of the year and they have their lending targets to hit.

"There is not a huge difference between many of the lowest rates the lenders offer, although Barclays has gone one step further than the rest with its latest fixed rates. Other lenders may well match them over the coming days."

Representative example: A capital and interest mortgage of £400,000 payable over 30 years, initially on a fixed rate basis at 4.08% until 30/09/2029 and then on the lender's 8.74% standard variable rate for the remaining 25 years. The 4.08% rate would require 61 monthly repayments of £1,928.16 followed by 299 payments of £2,972.85. The total amount repayable would be £1,007,639.91 made up of the loan amount, plus interest £606,498.58) and £899 (product fee), £80 (final repayment charge), £35 (completion fee). The overall cost for comparison is 7.1% APRC representative.

How many borrowers are taking two or five-year fixes?

Figures from UK Finance show that during April, the number of borrowers opting for two- and five-year fixes was almost the same, with 44% taking a two-year fix and 45% opting for a five-year fix.

Jonathan Haskel, a member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee, was quoted as saying he "would rather hold rates" at 5.25% until there is more certainty that inflation pressures had "subsided sustainably". This is despite the Bank of England base rate being at a 16-year high and some 732,000 mortgage deals ending in the second half of this year.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a mortgage, book a consultation, or complete our mortgage questionnaire. 

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

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

HSBC for Intermediaries has raised the maximum mortgage loan sizes many applicants can borrow.

The changes, which took effect on Wednesday, July 10, increase the amount of borrowing available on residential home purchases and remortgages. HSBC's changes are good news for first-time buyers with smaller deposits and those seeking larger mortgage loans.

HSBC customers with a 5% deposit can now borrow £570,000 rather than £500,000, and borrowers with a 25% deposit could borrow £3 million rather than £2 million.

Mortgage lenders use loan-to-value banding systems to calculate the rate borrowers pay and the maximum loan amount. Banks and building societies can also have different maximum loan size calculations, depending on the borrower type, such as first-time and next-time buyers.

New HSBC capital repayment mortgage lending limits:

· 5% deposit maximum mortgage loan size raised from £500,000 to £570,000.
· 10% deposit maximum mortgage loan size raised from £550,000 to £750,000.
· 15% deposit maximum mortgage loan size raised from £750,000 to £2m (increased to £1m for flats).
· 25% deposit maximum mortgage loan size raised from £2m to £3m (£3m for flats).
· 30% deposit maximum mortgage loan size raised from £2m to £3m (£3m for flats).

New HSBC interest-only mortgage lending limits:

· 50% deposit maximum mortgage loan size raised from £2m to £3m.
· 35% deposit maximum mortgage loan size raised from £2m to £3m.
· 25% deposit maximum mortgage loan size raised from £1m to £2m (increased to £2m for flats).

Does HSBC offer competitively priced mortgages?

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: “HSBC normally has some of the most competitively priced fixed and tracker mortgages, although the maximum loan sizes were not as large as some of its competitors. These changes will help them lend more money and attract more borrowers.

“Santander for Intermediaries recently increased the maximum mortgage loan size from £570,000 to £1 million for borrowers with a 10% deposit.”

Metro Bank for Intermediaries recently increased the maximum loan size applicants can borrow if they have a 10% deposit from £675,000 to £1.125 million for non new build properties. For borrowers with 15% deposits, Metro’s maximum loan size has increased significantly from £1m to £2m.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a mortgage or book a consultation

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change

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

A poll found that property surveyors expect a recovery in sales activity in the UK housing market following the general election and the predicted fall in mortgage rates.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS’) June UK residential survey showed that respondents returned a net balance of +20 for sales activity over the next three months.

RICS said this indicated confidence in the newly elected Labour government, which has pledged to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years.

This was up from a reading of +10 last month for near-term expectations and was the most positive sentiment for sales since January 2022.

Looking at price expectations over the next twelve months, a net balance of +54 of respondents believe prices will continue to rise, highlighting a key challenge for the new government as boosting housing supply in the UK will not be an easy task. However, any boost to confidence from aspects such as the possibility of lower interest rates should in theory intensify the nation-wide affordability challenge.

Tarrant Parsons, senior economist at RICS, said: “Although activity across the housing market remained subdued last month, forward-looking aspects did improve slightly.

“There are some factors emerging now that could support a recovery in the months ahead. If the Bank of England does decide that the current inflation backdrop is benign enough to start loosening monetary policy next month, this may prompt a further softening in lending rates. In addition, the recent election delivered a clear outcome, with housing pushed up the political agenda.”

Mortgage lenders lowering rates

Mortgage lenders have been reducing their rates recently. Barclays has launched leading two and five-year fixed rates targeting homebuyers looking to borrow up to £2 million.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a mortgage, book a consultation, or complete our mortgage questionnaire. 

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

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

There are still a fair few lenders offering offset mortgages, although not as many as there used to be. Accord Mortgages, Barclays for Intermediaries, Coventry Building Society, Coutts, Clydesdale Bank, and Family Building Society are the biggest providers still issuing offsets.

Since Scottish Widows exited the offset mortgage market, smaller lenders have been able to attract more business. The bank pulled out, saying these mortgages were not profitable anymore.

Banks must put cash aside to ensure funds are available when customers want to withdraw, making it harder for them. They also make less money if the offset balance is reduced and monthly repayments are lowered significantly. 

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "We get a lot of requests for offset mortgages, and while they are popular with some borrowers, they are ultimately only worth taking if people put funds in the linked accounts. The available offset mortgage rates are usually more expensive than the standard mortgage deals.

"Borrowers use offsets for various reasons, including keeping cash for a rainy day, savings for school fees and funds for building work. Offsetting for tax purposes is also popular, especially for high-net-worth clients with chunky tax bills to pay as they can use lump sums to reduce the interest they pay on their mortgage until they have to pay HMRC.

"Interest-only offset is also popular because people can use their savings to pay off lump sums and significantly reduce their monthly mortgage costs while still accessing their cash."

Which lenders have pulled out of the offset market?

Scottish Widows is the bigger lender in recent times. It is fair to say offset mortgages have fallen out of favour with lenders, and as a result, there are surprisingly few providers offering them. In the offset heyday, lenders like Intelligent Finance, Virgin One, and Britannic Money spent a lot advertising their offset mortgages. These days, advertising is more rare.

Which lenders have good offset deals?

Accord Offset mortgages "include a linked Offset savings account, which they open for you with their parent company, Yorkshire Building Society (YBS). Your savings will be held with YBS, but Accord will act as trustee.

"This simply means we hold the account for your benefit. The accounts are kept separate, so you’ll always have access to your savings. This reduces the interest you pay on your mortgage by having some of your savings in an Offset savings account linked to your Offset mortgage. You’ll only be charged interest on the difference between the amount in your savings and the amount borrowed on your mortgage."

Coventry Offset mortgages: One Offset savings account is linked to the mortgage, and it can reduce the term or monthly repayments depending on the type of mortgage and switch between the two at any time. The idea is to have easy access to savings, and borrowers can potentially get additional funds (often known as a further advance) at the same rate, subject to eligibility, loan-to-value, and lending policy. 

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to find out more about offset mortgages or book a consultation

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change

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