The average rate for a two-year fix edged up 2 basis points to 5.80%, however, the average three-year fix was unchanged at 5.49%.   

The average five-year fix was lifted by a single basis point to 5.35%, although the average 10-year fix was also unchanged at 5.91%.    

Two-year fixes      

The largest rises in this term came at 80% LTV and 75% LTV average rates, which both rose by 3 basis points to 5.85% and 5.60%, respectively.  

The 95% LTV average rate was 2 basis points higher at 6.02%, while the 85% LTV average rate was up by 2 basis points to 5.94%.        

Three-year fixes  

The biggest uplift at this level saw the 80% LTV average rate rise by 6 basis points to 5.64%, followed by the 100% LTV average rate, up 5 basis points to 4.80%.         

The 95% LTV and the 85% LTV average rates both fell by a single basis point to 5.85% and 5.65%, respectively.  

Five-year fixes  

The largest rises in this term came at 95% LTV 80% LTV and 60% LTV average rates, which lifted by 2 basis points to 5.48%, 5.40% and 4.91%, respectively. The 65% LTV average rate fell by 7 basis points to 5.51%.  

The 90% LTV and the 85% LTV average rates both rose by a single basis point to 5.50% and 5.44%, respectively.  

10-year fixes  

All fixes at this term were unchanged.  

Moneyfacts Finance Expert Rachel Springall says: “The activity within the mortgage market was slightly more subdued this week. There were several fixed rate cuts, a few reductions and some withdrawals that led to a slight rise in both the overall two- and five-year fixed mortgage rates.   

“However, there were fewer lenders making changes compared to the last week.  

“The prominent brands to increase fixed rates this week included Halifax by up to 20 basis points, Lloyds Bank by up to 9 basis points and Virgin Money by up to 6 basis points. Santander made increases of up to 43 basis points as well as reductions of up to 23 basis points.  

“A few building societies decided to tweak rates in their fixed ranges this week, with increases being made by Skipton Building Society by up to 38 basis points and Nottingham Building Society by up to 15 basis points.

“However, Coventry Building Society decided to cut fixed rates by up to 22 basis points and so did Mansfield Building Society, by up to 60 basis points, on a credit repair deal.  

“Amid the rate re-pricing, a few lenders moved to withdraw from the fixed rate market, including Melton Building Society, Leek Building Society, Kent Reliance, Coventry Building Society and Skipton Building Society.  

“Not to go unnoticed, Kent Reliance reduced fixed rates by up to 30 basis points, along with Gen H which made cuts of up to 25 basis points.

“The Co-operative Bank made increases of up to 22 basis points and reductions of up to 14 basis points, Progressive Building Society increased rates by up to 45 basis points and reductions on one of its remortgage two-year fixes by 8 basis points. Metro Bank increased fixed rates by up to 30 basis points, along with Pepper Money by up to 25 basis points.  

Springall adds: “Some eye-catching deals also surfaced this week, including a five-year fixed deal from Gen H, priced at 4.98% and available at 95% loan-to-value for house purchase customers. It includes a free valuation and charges a product fee of £999. Overall, it’s an attractive choice for borrowers with a limited deposit.  

“The re-pricing surge of recent weeks has stabilised slightly, but borrowers still need to act quickly to secure an attractive deal. Lenders will no doubt have their eyes focused on the next Bank of England base rate decision and the swap rate market when it comes to their future fixed-rate pricing.   

“If the swap market calms, it can take a couple of weeks for lenders to catch up with their re-pricing. Consumers would be wise to seek to keep on top of the changing market, particularly at a time where deals are being withdrawn.”  

The post Weekly rate watch: Fixes creep higher   appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The specialist bank offers tailored property investment products, including bridging finance, regulated and un-regulated loans, as well as development finance.  

Last month, Mike Kirsopp took over as chief executive at the business, which was granted a banking licence last February. 

StreamBank chief commercial officer Richard Armstrong says: “StreamBank was founded to serve specialist property and savings customers with the best financial solutions, through the combination of experience, judgement and desire to find a solution.  

“As a specialist in bridging and development finance, joining the Association of Short-Term Lenders was a natural progression for us.  

“The association reflects our own commitment to transparency, service and good customer outcomes and we look forward to working alongside other members in promoting the sector and these values.” 

Association of Short-Term Lenders chief executive Vic Jannels adds: “Our growing membership demonstrates the increasing importance and reputation of the short-term property lending sector as a vital and integral part of the wider mortgage market. 

“At the Association of Short-Term Lenders, we continue to strive to raise the profile of our sector amongst customers, brokers and regulators – and every new member helps to amplify our voice still further.” 

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It points out that a number of its reduced residential offers are aimed at first-time buyers and come with £500 cashback.  

Coventry Building Society’s broker-only arm adds that FTBs who buy a home with a CV postcode (in the Coventry area) can get £1,000 cashback.  

Highlights of the firm’s offers include:  

• Two-year fix at 5.41%, to 31 August 2026, at 90% LTV, with no product fee and £500 cashback – available for FTBs  
• Five-year fix at 4.79%, to 31 August 2029, at 75% LTV, with no product fee – available for buy-to-let remortgage, with the option of £350 cashback or use of the lender’s remortgage transfer service  

Coventry Building Society head of intermediary relationships Jonathan Stinton says: “Many of our rates are reducing, with some of our biggest reductions going to options most suited for FTBs.   

“As well as competitive rates, many of these deals also come with cashback which could be handy to help new buyers with moving costs.  

“We’re also launching new deals which offer £1,000 cashback for any FTBs who are buying a home with a CV postcode.   

“We’re proud to be supporting FTBs up and down the country with a little extra for those looking to take their first step on the housing ladder in our home city.” 

The post Coventry BS cuts resi, landlord rates by up to 26bps   appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The FTSE 250-listed lender — which includes OneSavings Bank, Kent Reliance and Charter Court Financial Services – added that “rising costs of living and borrowing were reflected in subdued purchase activity across all mortgage market sectors,” in its full-year results statement.  

Buy-to-let originations fell 13% to £1.6bn in the period “as overall market segment volumes reduced significantly”.  

It added that BTL borrowers continued to favour five-year fixed-rate mortgages, which represented 74% of Kent Reliance completions in 2023 (down from 83% a year ago), “however an increasing proportion of customers elected to take shorter-term mortgages in anticipation of falling interest rates”.  

However, the group’s statutory loan book grew by 9% to £25.8bn, which comprises landlord, commercial, residential development and funding line loans to non-bank lenders.  

The firm expects underlying net loan book growth of around 5% in 2024, based on current application volumes and against the backdrop of a lacklustre mortgage market

The business posted pre-tax profit down by 30% to £374.3m, blaming adverse effective interest rate adjustments.  

OSB Group chief executive Andy Golding said: “The group’s target professional landlords continue to demonstrate resilience, supported by high levels of demand in the private rented sector, long-term income improvement and a reduction in the cost of borrowing towards the end of the year.”  

Shares fell 17.4% to 380.60 in early trading.  

The business added that chief financial officer April Talintyre will retire at its annual meeting on 9 May, deputy chief financial officer Victoria Hyde will act in her place until a permanent replacement is appointed.  

Meanwhile, the group said that Precise Mortgages will rebrand as Precise, with a new brand image, while its broker website has been rebuilt to include new tools and updated functions.  

The move follows the launch of OSB Group’s registration portal, introduced last month, which allows new brokers to register with Precise, KRFI or InterBay, or all three, using a single registration process. 

The post OSB Group new lending falls 19% to £4.7bn   appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The lender says fixed-rate loans on its product transfer and further advance lending will lift by up to 32bps on two-year deals.  

It adds that remortgage offers, including large loans, affordable housing – shared equity/shared ownership and equivalent green products, will lift by up to 17bps on two-year fixes.  

These price rises take effect on Friday (15 March), and come after the firm raised selected two- and five-year residential house purchase loans by up to 20 basis points today (13 March).  

The business warns brokers to secure existing product codes on its second round of price rises, applications must be submitted in full by 8pm on Thursday (14 March).  

The move comes as Santander, the Co-operative Bank and NatWest all announced rate rises this week, as they adjust to City forecasts of a Bank of England rate cut in June, rather than in the spring, as many lenders had hoped.      

The BoE base rate is 5.25% as the central bank battles to bring down inflation, at currently 4%, to the 2% target set by the Chancellor. 

The post Halifax lifts fixes by up to 32bps in second rate rise in a week   appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The watchdog has brought a string of cases against building and investment firms on behalf of homeowners who have been tied down in new build homes because of these leases  

More than 30 companies have signed undertakings to change their ground rent terms since 2019 affecting more than 21,000 households, says the body.  

In this case, the authority brought actions against eight investment firms who bought freeholds originally owned by housing developers, including Crest Nicholson, Taylor Wimpey and Redrow.  

Homeowners then came under leasehold contracts that caused their ground rents to double in price.  

It says: “These terms, which kick in every 10 or 15 years, can leave people trapped in homes they cannot sell or mortgage, and their property rights can be at risk if they fall behind on payments.”  

The regulator says all affected leaseholders will now see their ground rents “returned to the original fee amount, the amount charged when the property was first sold” and will not rise over time.    

CMA interim executive director for consumer protection and markets George Lusty says: “Over the past five years, we’ve achieved real and impactful change, with over 21,000 households freed from issues such as costly doubling ground rents.  

“We hope those affected by this update can breathe a little easier knowing they won’t have to struggle against this type of rising fee anymore — particularly when many are already grappling with high costs elsewhere.”  

The eight freeholders in this case are: 

The post CMA breaks doubling of ground rents for 500 more homes    appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The lender adds it will cut 1,000 jobs, boost its cost-cutting plan and end seven-day branch opening in the wake of its autumn rescue deal.  

“With the feedback from the Prudential Regulation Authority [in September] that we should not expect to receive advanced internal rating-based approval in 2023, our focus going forward will be to dominate in niche parts of the mortgage market where our manual underwriting capacity is a competitive advantage,” the bank says in its full-year stock market statement.  

“This will likely mean that we seek to compete less for vanilla mortgages.”  

The bank posted a pre-tax profit of £30.5m last year, up from a £70.7m loss 12 months earlier, marking its first statutory pre-tax profit since 2018.  

It says profit was driven by boosting its net interest margin – the difference between what it pays out to savers and takes in from borrowers – by 6 basis points to 1.98%  

But overall, the firm’s total lending fell 6% to £12.3bn last year, with mortgages accounting for 63% of its loan book.  

The bank adds it is “on track to deliver £50m of annualised cost savings in the first quarter of this year as previously announced, these savings have been actioned with around 1,000 colleagues, equal to 22% of headcount, leaving before mid-April.”  

In October, the lender sealed a £925m rescue package that saw Columbian billionaire Jaime Gilinski Bacal take a 53% stake in the business.          

Its cost savings come on top of £30m of reductions outlined in a refinancing plan approved by shareholders in November.    

In December, Metro Bank scrapped a £3bn mortgage portfolio sale, reported to be with Barclays, citing market conditions.  

Metro Bank chief executive Daniel Frumkin says: “The work we have undertaken this year has laid the path to become a structurally profitable business and our focus towards the SME, Commercial and specialist mortgages sector presents an exciting opportunity in an underserved area of the market.”

In 2019, the bank suffered a £900m accounting scandal, when it emerged that the risk attached to some of its mortgage loans had been underestimated. The business and some of its senior officers were fined £10m for misleading investors.

The post Metro Bank lifts mortgage book, plans to boost specialist lending   appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Total mortgage enquiries over the past seven days are down 18.7% compared to the same period a month ago, as lenders prepare for Bank of England rate cuts in June, rather than in the spring, as they had earlier hoped.

In the last few days, Halifax, Santander, the Co-operative Bank and NatWest have all lifted the price of their home loans.

Rising mortgage fixes followed moves among swap rates. 

Two-year sonia swaps lifted to 4.463% on 8 March, from 4.429% on 12 February, data from Chatham Financial shows. Although, five-year sonia swaps fell to 3.850% from 3.896% over the same period.

Buy to let searches are down 13.2% over the same period, says the broker search engine.

Purchase enquiries are down 12.9%, while remortgage searches tumbled by 24.2%.

Twenty7tec director Nathan Reilly says: “The market has fundamentally shifted over the past week or two. Lenders have adjusted their products based on underlying swaps prices, building in slower reductions in interest rates than were priced in at the back end of last year.

“The heat in the market was always going to be hard to sustain – the levels of mortgage searches in January and February set new records for our busiest ever times. 

“But it seems that that early-year exuberance has now been swapped for sobriety in March.

“The market is keen to hear some good news in the next inflation update and BoE meeting. That mood music – which we saw directly influence a surge in activity earlier this year – will be so important when it comes to injecting confidence into the market.”

The post Broker searches slump almost 20% in a week: Twenty7tec appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

“While mortgage rates have dropped from their peak, those needing to remortgage in the next year will very likely still have to pay more on their mortgage than they currently are or would have had to if they had taken out the same mortgage a few years ago,” the firm’s poll says.

Average two- and five-year buy-to-let residential mortgage rates are 5.52% for both terms, according to Moneyfacts figures today (12 March).

The Bank of England base rate is currently 5.25% as the central bank battles inflation at 4%.

The City currently prices in three 0.25% base rate cuts from June this year. 

“Until then, borrowers will have a decision to make about their mortgage deals,” says The Mortgage Lender’s report.

To pay for these rises, 30% of landlords plan to increase rents, 23% have already budgeted for an increase, while 14% said they would sell the property. 

Another 14% said they plan to convert their property into a house in multiple occupation in order to secure better returns, while 13% are considering converting to a holiday let, according to the study.

The firm says 40% of BTL owners with a mortgage – whether fixed-rate, tracker, or discount – are due to renew their loans in the next 12 months.

While a further 41% are due to renew their mortgages over the next two to three years.

The study points out that 42% of landlords with a mortgage are currently on five-year fixes, 21% are on two-year deals, 15% are on standard variable rates, and 8% are on a tracker mortgage.

The Mortgage Lender head of sales – Midlands, South and specialist distribution Chris Kirby says: “The Bank of England has been grappling with high inflation for well over a year now, introducing successive rate rises to drive it down to more manageable levels. 

“Although they have had some success in achieving this, there is still a way to go. A rate cut could happen this year, though possibly not until the summer. 

“With many due to remortgage this year, it’s important landlords speak to a broker to find the most suitable mortgage for them in order to maintain their property portfolios, particularly as costs of living challenges continue.”

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