Santander, Virgin Money and Barclays have all slashed deals for first-time buyers, property owners moving home and households remortgaging.
The news comes after several UK banks upped rates at the end of November, with the last of the sub-4% rates disappearing, which occurred despite the Bank of England opting to cut the base rate to 4.75% at the start of November.
The hike was due to lenders facing higher cost, in the opinion of David Hollingworth, associate director of L&C Mortgages.
A month on, the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.47% and the five-year equivalent is 5.25%, according to Moneyfacts data.
Here’s a round-up of the latest cuts from major lenders.
Wellness and wellbeing holidays: Travel insurance is essential for your peace of mind
Out of the pandemic lockdowns, there’s a greater emphasis on wellbeing and wellness, with
Sponsored by Post Office
Barclays
Earlier this week, Barclays made cuts to its residential mortgage rates across multiple ranges.
The bank cut its residential purchase and remortgage five-year fixed rates by up to 0.14%.
Highlights from the mortgage rate cuts for purchase borrowers include the bank’s fee-free deal at 60% loan to value (LTV), which fell from 4.34% to 4.2%, and the £899 arrangement fee alternative, which reduced from 4.18% to 4.11%.
For remortgage borrowers with 25% equity paying a £999 fee, the rate was cut from 4.3% to 4.25%. The Great Escape edition, also at 75% LTV, was reduced from 4.42% to 4.33%.
Santander has made reductions across 70 mortgage products for residential purchase and remortgage up to 0.23%.
Rates on its new-build exclusive, green remortgage and buy-to-let (BTL) products have also been lowered by up to 0.16%.
Further, £250 cashback has been added to all residential mortgages at 85% LTV and above.
Across its purchase products, a two-year fix at 60% LTV with a £999 fee was lowered by 0.11% to 4.21%, while the equivalent at 85% LTV now has £250 cashback and has gone down from 4.76% to 4.69%.
Its fee-free five-year fixed purchase product at 95% LTV has £250 cashback and comes with a cut of 0.12% to 5.29%.
The lender also slashed its three-year fixed remortgage rate by 0.05% to 4.26% at 60% LTV with a £999 fee. The corresponding product at 75% LTV has gone down from 4.53% to 4.3%.
Virgin Money
The third lender to lower its rates was Virgin Money, which cut mortgage rates alongside extending its Green Reward deadline.
It also made a series of rate reductions to its residential products.
Across its purchase deals with a £995 fee, the two-year fix at 65% LTV was reduced by 0.16% to 4.37%, while the option at 75% LTV dropped by 0.1% to 4.43%. At 85% LTV, there was a 0.22% cut to 4.75%, and at 90% LTV, a 0.05% reduction to 5.08%.
For five-year fixes in this range, the 65% LTV deal nudged down by 0.05% to 4.24%, and the 75% LTV product cut by the same amount to 4.29%. The option at 85% LTV was reduced by 0.21% to 4.43%.
Meanwhile, its fee-free purchase deals up to 95% LTV, fixed for two or five years, were lowered by as much as 0.19%.
