MORTGAGE lenders have been slashing rates, with two-year deals now at the lowest they’ve been in almost three years.
The average two-year fixed mortgage currently has an interest rate of 5.12%, according to data from Moneyfacts.
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Rates have fallen by 0.14% in the last month.
Meanwhile five-year rates are averaging at 5.09%, down from 5.48% since last May.
Two-year fixes were last lower in September 2022, when they hit 4.24%.
Five-year rates were last at 5.09% back in November last year.
NatWest, Halifax and TSB are among the lenders that have slashed rates in recent days.
However rates have been falling by smaller margins than they were last month.
Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said: “The mortgage market has been relatively subdued this week, but thankfully so far lenders have been cutting fixed rates, not hiking them.”
The lower rates come as the Bank of England is set to announce its latest base rate decision tomorrow.
The base rate is set by the Bank eight times a year and it influences both mortgage and savings rates.
Currently the base rate stands at 4.25%, and it’s been slashed four times in a row.
It has meant millions of homeowners have seen their mortgage bills come down, while first-time buyers have seen more favourable rates while trying to get onto the ladder.
But the Bank is all but certain to hold the base rate tomorrow because of stubbornly high inflation.
It was revealed today that inflation fell slightly to 3.4% in April – but that’s still well above the target of 2%.
The Bank uses interest rates to keep inflation at a low level.
If interest rates are high, people spend less money and price rises slow down.
Meanwhile cutting interest rates too quickly or sharply could lead to higher inflation.
The Bank also has plenty of other economic worries to consider when it comes to its decision tomorrow.
There is the threat of higher inflation due to the conflict between Israel and Iran escalating in the Middle East, which has bumped up oil prices.
Huge tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump have also created economic uncertainty.
Plus, the UK economy contracted sharply in April and the country’s unemployment rate has risen to the highest level in nearly four years.
Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, said: “Interest rate decisions don’t seem to be getting any easier…
“You have a smorgasbord of mixed messages which the Bank of England has to make some sense of.”
He added: “Nonetheless, the Bank of England would have a lot of explaining to do if it were to cut interest rates with inflation more than 1% above target.”
Still, markets are expecting another cut to the base rate in August when the Bank next meets.
This is part of the reason for lower mortgage rates remaining on the market currently.
Why have mortgage rates been coming down?
Mortgage rates are not just influenced by the base rate – they’re also reliant on swap rates.
Swap rates are the rate of interest a lender agrees to pay to a financial institution in return for funds.
They reflect where markets expect the base rate will go in the future, based on factors like inflation and economic stability.
When swap rates are low, interest rates are usually low too.
Rajan Lakhani, personal finance expert and head of money at Plum, said: “Falling swap rates and higher competition between mortgage lenders have resulted in more competitive deals for prospective buyers and remortgagers, including some of the best rates we’ve seen in some time.”
He added: “The base rate is still expected to fall further this year by the markets, so this is already being reflected to some extent in the lower mortgage rates available to customers.”
Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, said: “Mortgage rate cuts are likely to be caused by providers jostling for competitive position, rather than the market radically rethinking the path for interest rates.”
He said it’s worth looking closely at how the Bank of England‘s Monetary Policy Committee votes tomorrow as that could give us a clue as to where interest rates will go in the future.
Should you lock in to a mortgage deal now?
The current low rates may mean you’re considering whether you should lock in now on a mortgage deal, or wait for further base rate cuts.
Lakhani says it depends on what you can afford and your appetite for risk.
“If you’ve seen a great fixed deal that could lower your mortgage payments in the immediate future and it’s affordable, it’s absolutely understandable if you go for that option,” he said.
“There is no guarantee rates will fall further and it gives you certainty when it comes to one of your biggest outgoings.”
However if you’re willing to take some risk, you may consider going for a variable or tracker rate mortgage.
Fixed-rate mortgages lock in at a specific interest rate for the whole mortgage term, while tracker mortgages track the base rate.
Lakhani said: “There are some very competitive tracker offers available offering rates that are very close to fixed rates.
“It’s important to do your research and get independent advice so you get the deal that’s right for you.”
Rachel Springall says you should get independent advice to look at all the options available.
“Lenders have been reviewing their stress testing over recent weeks, so some first-time buyers who have struggled with affordability criteria might be surprised to find they could now be eligible,” she said.
How to get the best deal on a mortgage
There are different factors that go into getting the best mortgage rate. Chris Sykes, technical director at broker Private Finance explains what you need to know.
The larger the deposit you have the lower the rates you’ll have access to.
The different deposit tiers offered by lenders are generally 0-1% deposit, 5%, 10%, 15%, then generally it skips to 25% and finally cash or equity of 40% or more.
There are some exceptions in between but these are usually the bands.
Lenders then set different rates for each of these tiers, rather than having one rate for a 12% deposit and another for 14%, for example.
With a deposit above 40% there is usually no price fluctuation, which means you’d get the same rate with a 50% deposit to a 40% deposit.
- Keep your credit score healthy
A better credit score doesn’t necessarily mean more competitive deals, but a negative credit could mean worse deals.
For example, there may be some people with not a lot of credit as they’ve never had a credit card, or loan, will get the exact some deal as someone who has more credit history and a better credit score.
However, a bad credit history or score starts to limit your lenders and means you may need to move off high street to a more specialist lender which tends to offer higher rates.
If you have poor credit, look for easy ways to improve it.
- Look six months before your fix ends
It’s best to look at deals six months before a current rate ends. This might be to just have a chat with a broker and get things moving.
It might be that you can get a deal lined up and locked in that protects against movements in interest rates – for example if rates were to go up over the following six months. And you can also then improve the rate within that six months if rates were to go down.
- How to find a good broker
A good mortgage broker is invaluable for navigating the options available to you.
The best way to find a good adviser is through personal recommendations, everyone has a friend or family member who will have recently bought or refinanced – ask them who they used and if they were happy with the service.
You can also lookup reviews of that person online to find other customer experiences too. Unbiased.co.uk is one place where people can offer their reviews.
IF you are looking to buy or remortgage, contact a broker nice and early, as they can then guide you through what the expectations are from lenders.
This gives you plenty of time to make sure your accounts are up to date if you’re self-employed and you can see if it is worth filing tax returns early.
