0:00
If you've been holding your breath for a
0:01
break in the mortgage market, we might
0:03
finally be reaching the point where you
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can exhale. Lending giants Barclays,
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Nationwide, HSBC, and more are all
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making major moves slashing rates across
0:13
a bunch of their mortgage products.
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Katie Eatenton, mortgage specialist at
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Lifetime Wealth Management, said,
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"Lenders are now reducing rates as
0:20
aggressively as they increased them."
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She added, "If more lenders are likely
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to follow suit, this could get the
0:25
property market moving again." And these
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aren't just random discounts. It's
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coming after weeks of record volatility
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in the market. As lenders begin taking
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the chop to their rates right ahead of
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the Bank of England's next interest rate
0:38
decision next week, it's a major
0:40
indication that the bank is going to
0:42
hold rates and potentially even signal
0:44
cuts on the horizon. The rate changes do
0:47
come though as lenders are rushing to
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catch up with swap rates, which have
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been the key driver of volatility. Swap
0:53
rates serve as a primary benchmark for
0:55
pricing fixed-rate mortgages and reflect
0:57
the market's expectations for future
1:00
interest rates. Businesses are also
1:01
going to be looking to hold onto that
1:03
competitive edge. So, when you see one
1:05
industry giant fire the starting gun on
1:07
a new competitive rate, don't be
1:09
surprised to see more follow. For
1:10
homeowners currently sitting on
1:12
expensive standard variable rates, this
1:14
move represents a window of opportunity
1:16
to lock in and make a deal before the
1:18
next wave of market volatility hits the
1:21
square mile. But we might not be out of
1:23
the dark just yet. Official figures this
1:25
week revealed inflation had surged 3.3%
1:29
in March. That's up from 3% in February,
1:32
and the mortgage market still remains
1:34
elevated. The average two-year
1:36
fixed-rate homeowner mortgage was at
1:39
at the start of March, and by the end of
1:41
this week, it was still over 5.8% and
1:45
over on the five-year fixed, the rate
1:49
from 4.95% at the start of March. It
1:52
comes after a month of mayhem where the
1:54
average deal hit a lifespan of just
1:55
eight days, according to financial
1:57
information platform Moneyfacts. That's
2:00
the lowest since records began in
2:01
November 2011. So, whilst lenders now
2:04
might be deciding it's time to whistle
2:05
down the rates that they kicked up in
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the last month, the outlook ahead still
2:09
remains clouded. Borrowers might be able
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to breathe a sigh of relief that the
2:13
month of mortgage mayhem has come to an
2:14
end, but there's still a long road ahead
2:16
to get back to those pre-March levels.
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To stay up-to-date from the latest on
2:20
all the big financial institutions,
2:22
stick with cityam.com.
