Fixed rate prices in the mortgage market remained somewhat subdued this week, as the Bank of England held the base rate at 4%.

Following on from marginal rate rises last week, data from Moneyfacts showed a mix of relatively minor rate rises and falls applied by lenders up until today, 19 September, leading to little change in averages.

Both average two-year and five-year fixes were unchanged as of today, at 4.98% and 5.02% respectively.

However, three-year fixes were down 0.03% to an average of 4.87% and 10-year fixed deals increased, up 0.02% to 5.71%.

Some of the main lenders to increase fixed rate products costs this week were the larger banks, with Santander applying rises of up to 0.13%, Barclays by up to 0.44% and Gen H by up to 0.10%.

Building societies also applied rate increases this week, with West Brom Building Society lifting them by up to 0.14%, Yorkshire Building Society by up to 0.19%, Skipton Building Society by 0.05%,  Leek Building Society by up to 0.05%, and Darlington Building Society by up to 0.10%.

However, Nationwide Building Society made reductions of up to 0.18%, Leek Building Society cut fixes by to 0.13%, Suffolk Building Society by up to 0.10%, and Skipton Building Society by up to 0.20%.

Moneyfacts spokesperson Caitlyn Eastell says mortgage affordability remains an issue.

“Keeping to expectations, yesterday the Bank of England decided to hold interest rates at 4% but with volatile swap rates and sticky inflation, the outlook remains uncertain,” says Eastell.

“This is evident by lenders cautious approach to not make any drastic changes to their products. Although the lowest rates have been dropping over the past six months, affordability remains a key concern for many borrowers and while lenders have been easing their LTI limits, allowing prospective buyers to borrow more, property prices remain out of range for many.

“There may be mixed emotions for the millions of borrowers looking to remortgage, with those on an average two-year deal seeing over a £200 fall but those on a five-year fix face the burden of seeing theirs rise.”