Mortgage price war heating up as Barclays and HSBC cut rates again

by Aaron Strutt

Jul 04 2024

Two of Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders have announced they are cutting rates again, adding to the numerous fixed-rate price reductions announced over the past two weeks.

Barclays for Intermediaries is reducing its two and five-year fixed deals by up to 0.27%, while HSBC will reveal full details of its cuts on Friday. 

Earlier this week, Halifax for Intermediaries lowered its rates by up to 0.19% for home movers and first-time buyers. Santander also lowered its rates by between 0.02% and 0.16% for borrowers purchasing a property. TSB has launched a competitively priced three-yer fix, and Accord has improved some of its pricing. 

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: “With the big five lenders – Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Halifax and NatWest – reducing their mortgage rates this week, they are trying to ramp up their summer sales. Nationwide Building Society should lower its rates soon following the cost of funding price improvements.

"Two-year fixed-rate mortgages now start from around 4.60% and five-year fixes from 4.20%. The most competitively priced rates are available to borrowers with 35% or 40% deposits, and they often have a £999 arrangement fee and a free basic property valuation."

Has the election slowed down the property market?

The run-up to general elections is rarely good for the property market as borrowers put off making financial decisions as they wait for more economic stability. We have also been through a pretty prolonged period of fixed rate increases, but rates are on a downward trend again.

When will mortgage rates come down further? 

Many borrowers have held off from locking into a fixed mortgage because they expect rates to come down when the Bank of England finally cuts the base rate. We seem to be getting closer to the Monetary Policy Committee acting to reduce the cost of borrowing as the official inflation rate decreases. 

Is there a mortgage price war?

There is a mortgage price war and competition between the lenders to attract borrowers.

What is happening to buy-to-let rates? 

Mortgage lenders have lowered their buy-to-let mortgages, although many low headline rates have higher arrangement fees. Lenders do offer buy-to-let rates with more standard £999 arrangement fees.

The Mortgage Works has a sub-3.7% two-year fix and a five-year fix priced at just over 4%. These rates are available to landlords with a 35% deposit, although there is a 3% setup fee. 

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a mortgage or book a consultation

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

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