Mortgage Strategy’s must-reads: Top 10 stories of the week
Rate uncertainty and high-profile boardroom appointments have driven the mortgage agenda over the past seven days.
From the debate surrounding the Bank of England’s base rate hold to Nationwide naming Richard Walker as head of intermediary sales, we round up the week’s key developments.
Explore these and other major industry updates below:
Richard Walker joins Nationwide as head of intermediary sales
Nationwide welcomes industry veteran Richard Walker as its new head of intermediary sales and new build, reporting directly to Damian Thompson. Bringing extensive experience from Virgin Money and RBS, Walker focuses on championing broker relationships and steering new-build activity. He steps into big shoes as James Briffitt retires after an impressive two decades of dedicated service, marking an exciting fresh chapter for the building society’s ever-vital intermediary partnerships.
MPC decision: Mortgage market divided on Bank base rate hold
The Bank of England keeps borrowing costs firmly frozen at 3.75%, sparking a spirited debate across the mortgage market. A divided Monetary Policy Committee votes six to three for the hold, attempting to tame inflation without destabilising the wider economy. While some industry experts applaud the cautious breather, others argue a hike is already overdue, leaving brokers and borrowers eagerly guessing what central bankers will deliver at their next meeting.
NatWest, TSB, Skipton and others in latest raft of rate rises
Lenders are wasting no time bumping up borrowing costs, with NatWest, TSB, Skipton, Coventry, and Principality rolling out fresh rate hikes. Price tags rise by up to 43 basis points across the board, spanning residential and buy-to-let deals. Experts note that institutions are sprinting ahead of the Bank of England, reacting directly to climbing wholesale funding pressures and reminding borrowers that swap rates, not central bankers, currently steer the pricing ship.
Barclays joins wave of repricing with 20bps rate hikes
Barclays jumps onto the repricing bandwagon, lifting rates by a uniform 20 basis points across 39 residential purchase products. The sweep pushes several popular deals straight past the dreaded 5% mark, nudging its competitive two-year 60% LTV fix up to 4.75%. Following a flurry of rival moves, this widely predicted adjustment proves major lenders are moving in lockstep, giving home hunters another timely reminder that pricing windows close quickly.
NatWest unveils new build phone line for brokers
NatWest picks up the receiver to make broker lives easier, launching a dedicated phone line specifically for new-build cases. The direct hotline connects intermediaries straight to trained business development managers for swift criteria checks, underwriting advice, and pre-submission help. Aiming to iron out the unique kinks and tight deadlines of fresh constructions, the lender ensures advisers get prompt answers and vital support from the initial inquiry right through to final completion.
Biggest lenders make second major round of rate hikes this month
Britain’s heavyweight lenders hit the accelerator on borrowing costs, unleashing a second round of steep rate hikes this September alone. High-street giants including Santander, HSBC, and Lloyds push pricing sharply upwards as climbing swap rates pile on the pressure. With sub-5% deals disappearing fast and average monthly repayments feeling the squeeze, the coordinated repricing leaves both brokers and eager house hunters navigating an increasingly expensive race against the clock.
Nationwide increases select fixes and tracker rates by up to 0.20%
Nationwide finally joins the repricing party, bumping selected fixed and tracker rates upward by up to 0.20%. The adjustments touch everything from first-time buyers and home movers to remortgages and switchers, nudging its popular two-year fix to 4.63%. Having held its nerve since mid-August while rivals moved faster, the building society yields to climbing funding costs, reminding eagle-eyed borrowers that standout best-buy bargains do not hang around forever.
Fixed rate mortgage hikes dominate the market, says Moneyfacts
Fixed mortgage rates continue their upward march as lenders scurry to reprice, according to the latest Moneyfacts data. The typical two-year deal climbs to 5.67%, while five-year fixes reach 5.72%, driven by 20 lenders hiking costs against just three offering cuts. Sharply rising swap rates fuel the wider squeeze, prompting experts to warn borrowers that, without a sudden market cooldown, further upward price nudges look all but guaranteed.
News Analysis: ‘We are heavy on the remortgage side’
Remortgaging takes the steering wheel as cautious house hunters choose to sit tight, according to brokers and Bank of England figures. While purchase approvals ease to 56,100, refinance searches surge ahead as thousands of homeowners exit cheap fixed-rate deals. With higher borrowing costs looming, proactive borrowers move early to lock in fresh pricing or fund renovations, proving that keeping an existing home feels far safer than braving an uncertain moving market.
CPI inflation: mortgage rates may rise further due to jittery markets
Rising UK inflation nudges mortgage borrowing costs further upward as markets feel the strain. With August CPI hitting 3.1%, lenders face growing nervousness over stubborn price pressures, geopolitical uncertainty, and stubborn energy bills. While the latest uptick was broadly anticipated, experts caution that any further unpleasant inflationary surprises could easily trigger fresh tremors across homeloan pricing, keeping nervous borrowers firmly on their toes for additional rate hikes in the weeks ahead.
