Mortgage | Latest Blog News On Mortgage Rates and Mortgage Savings

One month on from the first of the Bank of England’s emergency cuts to the base rate, the mortgage market looks very different.

Which? research has found that the number of deals available has fallen by nearly 50%, and some lenders are yet to pass the base rate saving on in full to their customers.

With 140,000 mortgages estimated to mature in April, worth a total of £20.9bn, many people will be on the hunt for a new deal.

Here, we explain which banks have cut their rates and why you might find it more difficult to remortgage in the current climate.

Mortgage deals drop after the base rate cut

In March, the Bank of England cut the base rate twice, from 0.75% to 0.25% on 11 March, and then to the historic low of 0.1% on 19 March – an overall drop of 0.65% in eight days.

In the month since the first drop, banks have significantly cut the number of mortgages available to borrowers.

Data from Moneyfacts shows that the number of deals on the market has fallen from 5,239 to 2,750 – a drop of 48%.

There are several contributing factors:

Have banks passed on the base rate change?

The base rate governs the cost of borrowing for banks, so when it drops we would hope to see this passed on to customers in the form of a reduction in the lender’s standard variable rate (SVR).

The SVR is the rate your mortgage moves onto at the end of your fixed term if you don’t switch to another deal.

Banks have generally been proactive. Of the 10 biggest UK lenders, only Coventry Building Society (0.5%) and Yorkshire Building Society (0.5%) have failed to pass on the full 0.65% reduction to customers so far.

The table shows which banks and building societies have cut their SVRs since 11 March.

Which lenders have failed to cut their rates?

The following lenders have so far failed to make cuts to their SVR since 11 March.

Many lenders on this list are smaller building societies that may still be reviewing changes, so although they haven’t reduced their SVRs yet, there’s no guarantee they won’t in the coming weeks.

What does this mean for people remortgaging?

If you’re coming to the end of your fixed term in the next few months, you might be wondering how this affects your remortgaging options, whether you’re changing lender or moving to a new deal with your current bank (known as a product transfer).

What if I can’t switch in time?

Earlier this week, we spoke to a Which? reader who is in the process of switching their mortgage to First Direct. They received an email stating that there could be a delay in processing the switch and that First Direct ‘cannot guarantee any requested completion dates’.

The lender said that, in addition to any staffing issues, it ‘[relies] on other parties to complete your remortgage and they also may experience issues. We cannot be held responsible for any costs or expenses incurred as a result of any delay, as these circumstances are outside of our control.’

Which? approached First Direct with our concerns that this policy could result in borrowers lapsing onto SVRs through no fault of their own.

A spokesperson told us: ‘Our standard successful contact strategy with customers approaching maturity remains in place and the majority of these complete their product switch online.

‘While First Direct is not responsible for the actions of its third-party suppliers, we have an excellent relationship with them and work together to ensure we provide the best possible service to our customers, ensuring any issues are prioritised and resolved appropriately.’

Remortgaging: what the banks say about delays

It’s feasible that many banks could face processing delays and staff shortages, thanks to the impact of coronavirus, so if your mortgage is maturing over the next few months, it’s important to get ahead of the game and switch early.

We asked the UK’s 10 biggest lenders if they could provide assurances that customers wouldn’t be left footing the bill if a remortgage took longer than expected.

In response, most lenders told us that product transfers can be submitted online, but none spoke specifically about customers switching from another lender.

Their responses are summarised below. Barclays failed to respond to our inquiries.

Will banks relaunch their deals?

The good news for people looking to remortgage is that the best rates have remained largely unchanged in the past few weeks, despite the number of available deals being cut in half.

And more products could soon return to the market, according to Moneyfacts.

Eleanor Williams of Moneyfacts says: ‘We are beginning to see early indications that lenders might be beginning to consider launching new products again, with providers such as Barclays and Halifax via intermediaries taking those first steps. We hope that we may soon see others follow suit.

‘The average SVR is now 4.67% and the average two-year fixed mortgage rate has reduced to 2.21%, so the benefit of switching to a new deal while rates are low is evident for those eligible and would protect these customers from interest rate volatility in the future.’