Halifax and YBS cut rates; Bucks BS refreshes three-year pricing – round-up
Halifax has announced rate reductions of up to 0.1%, going live on 9 October.
Changes will apply to its two-, three- and five-year fixes for homebuyers and first-time buyers.
The reductions will see the Lloyds Premier range fall below 5%, with a two-year fix at 4.9%, a three-year fix at 4.87% and a five-year fix at 4.89%.
Matt Coulson, founder of Heron Financial, said the market was in a better place than two weeks ago.
He added: “This is the other side of the coin from a fortnight ago. Then the story was that sub-5% deals were vanishing and the average was heading for 6%; now, a handful of lenders are nudging them back under five. That whiplash is the whole point.”
Coulson said swap and fund-driven moves reversed “about as fast as they arrive”, so he was wary of viewing a single week as an indication of a trend.
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He added: “I’d keep it in proportion, though. These are small cuts of around 0.1% from a few lenders, so it’s competition and funding easing at the margin, well short of a race to the bottom. It’s progress, and no more than that.
“The bigger test is still the Budget on the 28th, because the bond market’s reaction will decide whether this easing holds or snaps back. For borrowers, this is exactly why keeping your rate under review right up to completion matters, because in a market this twitchy, it can move down as easily as up.”
Yorkshire BS cuts mortgage rates by up to 0.5%
Yorkshire Building Society has also lowered pricing, with mortgage rate reductions of up to 0.5%.
The mutual has reduced rates by as much as 0.29% for remortgage, while two-year rates up to 90% loan to value (LTV) have been cut by up to 0.21% and five-year rates at 75% LTV by as much as 0.24%.
At 60% LTV, five-year rates have been lowered by 0.25%.
Changes include the five-year fixed purchase product at 95% LTV, which has been reduced from 6.29% to 5.79%. This has a £1,495 product fee and standard valuation, as well as a £250 loyalty cashback option where applicable.
At 75% LTV, a similar product has been reduced from 5.07% to 4.97%.
There is also a two-year fix at 80% LTV for purchase, which has no fee and has been cut from 5.44% to 5.34%.
Tom Simpson, managing director of homes for Yorkshire Building Society, said: “This range refresh is part of our ongoing focus on helping more people to achieve homeownership.”
Bucks BS revises range
Buckinghamshire Building Society has updated a number of mortgage rates, including changes to its three-year range.
The three-year retirement and retirement interest-only (RIO) fixed rates have been lowered from 6.19% to 5.99%, while the Credit Restore options now start from 6.39%.
The residential and first-time buyer products up to 95% LTV now begin at 6.29%.
Within the buy-to-let (BTL) range, the three-year fixed limited company product is now priced at 6.29%, while the portfolio BTL and expat portfolio BTL products are now priced at 6.89%.
Additionally, the mutual’s one-year short-term lending discount product has been lowered from 5.99% to 5.89%. Buckinghamshire Building Society has also updated selected two-year residential, Credit Revive and holiday let rates.
Claire Askham, head of mortgage sales at Buckinghamshire Building Society, said: “Since introducing more three-year options to our range, we’ve been really pleased with the response we’ve seen from brokers. It shows there is a clear appetite for products that sit between the more traditional two- and five-year options.
“Three-year fixed products can offer an alternative for clients who want the certainty of a fixed rate but may not necessarily want to commit for five years, so we’d encourage brokers to keep including them when sourcing and discussing the options available to their clients.
“While we’ve made a number of rate changes across the range, our approach remains the same – to provide brokers with a broad range of options across the more complex areas of the market and to consider each case on its individual merits through manual underwriting.”
