First Time Buyer
The last sub-1% tracker mortgage has disappeared
The lowest two-year tracker rate available now is 1.24%, while the average rate is 1.97%, according to data firm Moneyfacts.
It also found the average two-year variable tracker rate increased by 0.20% since 1 November.
Moneyfacts finance expert Charlotte Nelson noted that in less than two weeks since the Bank of England’s rate rise the majority of variable tracker providers had already passed on the increase, causing the average two-year variable rate to rise, effectively cancelling out any gains made in the past six months.
“The 0.25% increase to Barclays Mortgage’s 0.99% two-year variable tracker rate marks a significant shift in the market and means it’s the end of the sub-1% tracker era,” she said.
“Unfortunately, with little room to manoeuvre at such low rates, providers have no choice but to pass on the base rate rise to borrowers. The very nature of variable tracker rate mortgages means that as base rate rises, so will the rates on these deals. The quick reactions of providers only illustrates the extent to which the market had been prepared for the rise.”
She added that Standard Variable Rates (SVRs) had been slower to react, but with the average SVR standing at 4.66%, these rates are already significantly higher than those on many other options available to borrowers.
Nelson also highlighted that many lenders had not been so quick to pass on the rate rise to savers, with only 18 providers paying 1% or more on their easy access savings account.
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