Expert Knowledge & Professional Service

HSBC for Intermediaries has launched two sub-4% residential mortgage rates for higher earners purchasing or remortgaging a property. 

The high street bank offers a 3.98% five-year fix for borrowers purchasing a property when they have a 40% deposit - there is a £999 arrangement fee. HSBC's remortgage five-year fix 0.01% higher and it also has a £999 setup fee. The minimum loan size is £10,000 and the maximum loan size is £2 million. Applicants will need to open a premier account or have an existing premier account to qualify. 

Trinity Financial product and communications director Aaron Strutt says: “Just when we thought it was all over for sub-4% fixes for a while HSBC has undercut its competitors with a 3.98% five-year fix.

“While the rate is really good, it is not going to be as widely available to borrowers because of the high minimum income qualification requirement. To qualify as a premier customer, applicants must have an annual income of at least £100,000 and pay it into an HSBC Premier Bank Account. Or have savings or investments of at least £100,000 with HSBC in the UK.

“The good news is that HSBC’s move shows the lenders can still offer really cheap mortgages despite the ongoing uncertainty driven by inflation and mixed messaging about the number of base rate cuts we will get this year.”

Santander pushed its five-year 3.99% rate last week by 0.07% last week due to rising funding costs and the popularity of the rate. It is still offering a sub-4% two-year fix. 

Barclays for Intermediaries is still offering its sub-4% five-year fix, and there is a selection of lenders offering five-year fixes of around 4.10%.

HSBC representative example: A capital and interest mortgage of £400,000 payable over 30 years, initially on a fixed rate basis at 3.99% until 31/05/2030 and then on the lender's 6.99% standard variable rate for the remaining 25 years. The 3.99% rate would require 62 monthly repayments of £1,903.47 followed by 298 payments of £2,548.46. The total amount repayable would be £878,767.22 made up of the loan amount, plus interest (£479,693.70) and £999 (product fee), £0 (final repayment charge), £17 (completion fee). The overall cost for comparison is 6% 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

Nationwide Building Society has lent to more first-time buyers than any other bank or building society in the UK by "prioritising those looking to get on the housing ladder." 

According to the latest industry data from CACI1, Nationwide topped the table for first-time buyer lending eight out of 12 months in 2024 and was the top lender for every month in the second half of the year. Nationwide provided over 180,000 mortgages in 2024 – with over one in three of these to first-time buyers.  

Nationwide increased its mortgage affordability calculation for first-time buyers from 5.5 to six times’ income in late September through its Helping Hand mortgage boost; this scheme enables higher loan-to-income lending and a maximum of 95 per cent loan-to-value. This was a surprising move by the normally conservative lender and has helped more young people get on the property ladder.

Would Nationwide’s six-times salary mortgage help you?

Helping Hand launched in April 2021 and accounted for 23 per cent of Nationwide’s first-time buyer mortgages in 2024. In 2020, the average loan size for first-time buyers was £159,000; in 2024, it was £197,000. For those who benefitted from Helping Hand, the average loan size last year was over a quarter higher (26%) at £249,000. 

Nationwide, like other lenders, is limited to lending no more than 15 per cent of its new mortgages to customers borrowing at or above 4.5 times their income – and currently earmarks the vast majority of this lending to first-time buyers. To help more first-time buyers, Nationwide is calling on the government to review this cap. Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s Director of Home, said: “We believe it’s important to put first-time buyers first given how tough it is to get on the housing ladder.”

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "Nationwide is a decent mortgage lender and pushes hard to attract first-time buyers. It normally has competitively priced rates and can produce fast mortgage offers, especially when applicants have straightforward financial situations. Other lenders offer six times salary mortgages, but the rates are normally more expensive."

Halifax is also keen to attract first-time buyers

Many of Nationwide’s competitors are also keen to provide buyers with more first-time mortgages. Halifax, for example, currently offers a First-time Buyer Boost product where you can borrow up to 22% more than it could normally lend.

To qualify at least one person applying must be a first-time buyer. You must have a deposit of 10% or more to put down. The total household income of everyone applying must be a minimum of £50,000.

For example: If you have a total household income of £50,000 and a 10% deposit, the most you could borrow is £224,500. With the Halifax First Time Buyer Boost mortgage, you could borrow up to £275,000.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a first-time buyer 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

Santander for Intermediaries has announced it is withdrawing its 3.99% five-year fixed rate mortgage eight days after launching it. The rate will be withdrawn on Friday 21 February at 10pm.

Banks and building societies are making a range of price increases and rate reductions, so while lenders like Santander and The Co-operative Bank have raised their prices, Halifax and Nationwide are lowering theirs. 

From tomorrow, Friday 21 February, Nationwide is reducing selected fixed rates across our New Business and Existing Customers Moving Home product ranges by up to 0.33%. Halifax is also making rate reductions of up to 0.20% on selected fixed-rate products and lowering some remortgage rates by 0.15%.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "Santander has been receiving a huge amount of applications for its sub-4% rates and given the rise in funding costs over the last couple of days, it was only a matter of time until the bank was going to withdraw some of its products.

"Santander is keeping its 3.99% two-year fix, and Barclays still has the 3.99% five-year rate, although they may not be around much longer. There is still time to secure Santander’s best buy deal, but borrowers will need to be quick."

Barclays representative example: A capital and interest mortgage of £400,000 payable over 30 years, initially on a fixed rate basis at 3.99% until 03/06/2030 and then 1.99% over the Bank of England base rate currently 6.49% for the remaining 28 years. The 3.99% rate would require 63 monthly repayments of £1,430.52 followed by 297 payments of £1,826.77. The total amount repayable would be £633,813.45 made up of the loan amount, plus interest (£332,674.10) and £899 (product fee), £80 (final repayment charge), £35 (completion fee). The overall cost for comparison is 5.7% 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

Barclays for Intermediaries and Santander for Intermediaries have launched sub-4% fixed-rate mortgages again providing welcome additional competition between the lenders.

Barclays offers a five-year fixed rate of 3.99% for borrowers purchasing a property. The mortgage has an £899 arrangement fee, and applicants will need a 40% deposit to qualify. The maximum loan size is £2 million.

Santander’s new sub-4% two- and five-year fixed rates are for borrowers either purchasing or remortgaging a property with a 40% deposit. The arrangement fee is £1,749 for remortgages, rising to £1,999 for those buying a property. The maximum loan size is £3 million.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: “Both Santander and Barclays have been offering competitively priced rates for a while, but this latest Bank of England base rate cut seems to have helped them offer slightly better rates. Both lenders offer up to 5.5 times salary mortgages for higher earners and have good interest-only policies.”

Last week, Nationwide also improved the pricing on selected fixed rates by up to 0.35%. This includes rates across its new business and existing customers moving home products, as well as its rate switcher and additional borrowing ranges.

Barclays representative example: A capital and interest mortgage of £400,000 payable over 30 years, initially on a fixed rate basis at 3.99% until 03/06/2030 and then 1.99% over the Bank of England base rate currently 6.49% for the remaining 28 years. The 3.99% rate would require 63 monthly repayments of £1,430.52 followed by 297 payments of £1,826.77. The total amount repayable would be £633,813.45 made up of the loan amount, plus interest (£332,674.10) and £899 (product fee), £80 (final repayment charge), £35 (completion fee). The overall cost for comparison is 5.7% APRC representative.

How long are Barclays and Santander taking to produce mortgage offers?

Barclays for Intermediaries currently takes an average of 10 working days to produce residential mortgages and 21 days for buy-to-let mortgages. Santander for Intermediaries is taking six working days to produce a mortgage offer. Nationwide for Intermediaries currently takes two days to assess a case and eight days on average to produce a mortgage offer.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to confirm how much you can borrow and the most competitively priced rates. You can also 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  

The number of mortgages available to borrowers with a 5% deposit has increased to 388, now at its highest point in almost five years since March 2020.

According to the latest Moneyfacts UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report, mortgage product choice overall fell month-on-month, to 6,451 options, however product numbers are substantially higher than a year ago (5,787).

Average mortgage rates on the overall two- and five-year fixed rates rose by 0.04% and 0.07% to 5.52% and 5.32% respectively. 

The average two-year fixed rate is 0.20% higher than the five-year equivalent but the gap is at its lowest margin since January 2023 (0.16%). The two-year fixed rate has now been higher than the five-year equivalent since October 2022.

The average two-year tracker variable mortgage rate fell to 5.46%. The average ‘revert to’ rate or Standard Variable Rate (SVR) fell to 7.78%. In comparison, the highest recorded was 8.19% during November and December 2023.

The average shelf-life of a mortgage product rose to 36 days from 21 days a month ago.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "There is a lot of choice in the mortgage market at the moment, whether for fixed or tracker rates, short or longer-term products. The lenders have been gradually easing their acceptance criteria, and many have been offering more generous loan sizes. 

"Figures in The Times today say, according to Rightmove, the volume of home sales agreed in January was 15 per cent higher than its recent trend. Demand was also 8 per cent higher than usual, while the number of new property listings jumped by 13 per cent."

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

TSB for Intermediaries has increased the income multiple it uses to calculate mortgage loan sizes for higher earners buying newly built properties.

If an employed applicant earning above £75,000 per annum purchases a new-build property with a 10% deposit, they could potentially borrow TSB's maximum loan-to-income of 5.50 times income. Providing they have a good credit score.

TSB says the bank is "supporting more customers in purchasing energy-efficient properties that will have lower running costs."

The maximum TSB will currently consider lending on new build properties is:

• Houses and Bungalows - 10% deposit required
• Flats and Maisonettes - 15% deposit required
• Second Home/Holiday Homes – 25% deposit required

How does TSB define a new build property?

TSB classes an initial occupancy/new build property as any property being occupied and/or sold for the first time on the open market in its current state including converted and refurbished properties. These will fall into one of the following categories:

• Newly built property.
• Refurbished property i.e. refurbishment, of an existing residential property. Typically, a renovated property will be considered as initial occupancy where the vendor is a builder/developer and the property has been vacated to allow for the refurbishment to be undertaken.
• Newly converted property i.e. conversion of an existing non residential property, e.g. an existing mill converted into flats.
• A property, either new or converted (as above), that has been tenanted and is now offered for sale by the builder/developer.
• Properties built within the last 10 years must be subject to one of the following building control and monitoring requirements:  Building Standards Indemnity Scheme from a warranty provider accepted by TSB.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says, “It is pretty unusual for a lender to launch a more generous income multiple, specifically for new-build properties, but they are doing more to increase their lending volumes.

"TSB has also reduced the income threshold to a maximum of 5.50 times income, to £75,000 from £100,000 for it mainstream residential lending."

TSB's debt to income

When determining affordability, applications will be declined for a TSB mortgage when the credit score confirms the applicant has: Opened three or more accounts e.g. credit card or personal loan in the last six months. Their application will also be declined if unsecured commitment balances have increased by more than 20% in the last three months.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a new build 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