At the end of July, Nationwide released a five-year fixed rate mortgage priced at 3.99%, marking the first time the mortgage market has seen a sub-4% deal since February.
At the end of July, Nationwide released a five-year fixed rate mortgage priced at 3.99%, marking the first time the mortgage market has seen a sub-4% deal since February. Other major lenders like HSBC and Halifax have also been gradually reducing the cost of their fixed-rate deals over the past few weeks.
"Nationwide’s sub-4% mortgage marks a significant change in the landscape, signaling better news for borrowers"
Nicholas Mendes, a mortgage technical manager at the broker John Charcol, said: “Nationwide is the first lender to finally breach the 4% benchmark following recent weeks of downward repricing. This is fantastic news for borrowers and signifies a significant change in the mortgage landscape after recent months of increased rates… We will likely see the likes of HSBC look to reprice again to ensure they remain ahead of the pack.”
Our analysis is that the mortgage market as a whole is now pricing in a base rate cut in August and/or September, with lenders looking to promote their most competitive rates and to stimulate the market for new purchases as we move towards the traditionally busy September period.
November marked the fifth consecutive monthly UK house price rise and the biggest leap so far this year, according to Halifax. The mortgage lender said property values were up 1.3% compared with October.
We expect positive price growth this year – in a climate of falling mortgage rates, improving affordability and the release of some pent-up demand. Rightmove reported that first-time buyer demand in the capital in September 2024 was 28% ahead of 2023, moving up to 31% after the autumn budget.
International property company JLL has said it expects Greater London house prices to increase by 22% over the next 5-years, beating nationwide UK growth predictions of 20% over the same time span. The firm added that within those headline figures, it expected lower value markets to see stronger growth towards the beginning of the period, with more expensive markets like London and the South East outperforming in the second half.