Financial information company Moneyfacts have reported that the average 2-year fixed mortgage rate now stands at over 6% meaning that borrowers looking to get a 2-year fixed rate loan or are coming off their current fixed deal and are hoping to get a new low rate, are likely to get a product priced between 5% and potentially above 6%. Here is a breakdown of what Moneyfacts and other financial news websites have reported this morning.
Average 2-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate UK
Moneyfacts, a website who records, collates, and reports on a variety of UK finance issues has reported that the average 2-year fixed mortgage rate in the UK is now over 6%. This new announcement comes after a couple of weeks of lenders increasing their rates in mass. Last week the average 2-year fixed rate was at 5.98%, but this has since increased to 6.01% as of this morning according to Moneyfacts.
They have also reported that the average 5-year fixed UK mortgage rate has increased to 5.67% compared to 5.62% last week. Despite being high, these rates are still below the level that they were at the end of 2022 after the infamous ‘Mini-Budget’ announced by Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss’s ill fated Conservative government. At this time the mortgage markets reacted by increasing the average mortgage rate to 6.65% with 5-year fixed mortgages standing at around 6.51%.
As the lenders calmed down a bit from the initial shock of the mini budget and base rate hike at the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023, interest rates did cool slightly at the beginning of the year, but they are now creeping back up again. We as mortgage brokers do believe that mortgage rates will come back down again, sooner rather than later as inflation is dropping and hopefully we will start to see a more rapid drop in the coming months. But in the meantime, we all need to understand that rates are high at the moment and will likely be above 4.5% for most borrowers for the next few years.
What Can I Do About Mortgage Rates in the Meantime?
It is undeniable that people need advice more now than ever. With mortgage rates going up and the cost of living rising, people are going to struggle and unfortunately some people are going to be unable to pay their mortgages and will lose their properties. As mortgage advisors, our job is to help our clients to secure the best mortgage deal and most manageable payment plan for their own circumstances. That’s why if you are coming off of a fixed rate deal and need to move on to a new product, our initial mortgage consultations are completely free of charge so that we can help you to determine the best route forward in a tricky mortgage market. If you or anyone you know is looking to get a new fixed mortgage deal, give our team a call today.