‘Least affordable’ areas mainly in London commuter belt, UK Finance finds, with data not taking Iran war into account

Bank of England figures show approvals for remortgaging with a different lender also increased

British lenders approved the most mortgages in four months in March while consumer lending grew at the fastest ​annual rate in over two years, according to Bank of England ‌data which showed some resilience in the economy at the start of the Iran war.

Bank of England figures show approvals for remortgaging with a different lender also increased over the month.

The Monetary Policy Committee opted to maintain the base rate at 3.75 per cent following today’s meeting

Hundreds of sub-4 per cent products were removed from the market as swap rates shot up during the Iran war

While rates have recently fallen, they could soon rise again leaving homeowners in “limbo”

Banks and building societies are offering homebuyers super-sized mortgages of six times salary as they struggle to climb the property ladder.

Mortgage rates are still well above the level they were pre-crisis, but they are dropping for homeowners and buyers

Santander and HSBC UK, which both made mortgage rate reductions last week, are making further cuts this week.

Barclays joined the raft of lenders cutting rates across mortgage products as attention turned to the Bank’s interest rate decision.

The mortgage market is showing signs of recovery, with some major lenders reducing borrowing costs and hundreds of deals returning to the market.

Santander and TSB are also making reductions this week, with average rates showing signs of having reached a plateau.

Santander is reducing mortgage rates for borrowers with smaller deposits from Thursday, attributing the change to a fall in swap rates which lowers lenders’ borrowing costs.

Santander and TSB are the two banks with confirmed changes coming this week

Santander has said it is ‘pleased’ to pass on a reduction in borrowing costs following a fall in swap rates.

Mortgage experts say the reductions are a good sign, though it’s still unclear when cheaper mortgages will return

A broker said that it was never more important to be ready

Almost a million homeowners are facing higher mortgage costs

The ‘full impact’ of higher costs and mortgage rates is still feeding through, a finance expert said.

Mortgage and property market is still expected to see risng demand in the coming months

Lenders may slow down the pace of interest rate changes over the next couple of weeks, Moneyfactscompare.co.uk suggested.

Calming markets should have a stabilising impact on the mortgage market, Moneyfacts said.

The UK is particularly vulnerable to global economic shocks.

Higher energy prices could lead to higher borrowing costs for homeowners, the Bank warns.

The Bank of England’s latest Financial Stability Report (FSR) said the UK economic outlook has ‘deteriorated’

British lenders last month approved the most mortgages ‌in three months and consumer credit grew at the fastest pace in nearly two years, Bank of England data showed on Monday ahead of a potential hit from higher borrowing costs caused by the Iran war.

Landlords face rising borrowing costs alongside sweeping regulatory changes coming into force in May

Bank of England figures show home buyer mortgage approvals increased in February, but mortgage rates have been volatile since.

Rising swap rates have seen all the sub-4% deals pulled from residential markets over the past few weeks

Four per cent mortgage deals have disappeared entirely from the residential market since the Iran war started

The Middle East conflict has caused 4% mortgage deals to vanish from the UK residential market, with rates rising significantly due to soaring swap rates, not the Bank of England’s base rate.

Millions of homeowners face a sudden increase in monthly repayments at a time when wider living costs are still under pressure

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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the average house price increased by 1.3 per cent

The Iran conflict is causing ‌price turmoil in Britain’s mortgage market not seen since the disruption of the pandemic and the country’s 2022 mini-budget crisis, data from Moneyfacts shows, underlining how the war is playing havoc ​with financial markets worldwide.

More than 200 first-time buyer deals have disappeared from the market since 6 March, with more upheaval expected.

The UK mortgage market has experienced a significant contraction, with nearly a fifth (19.5 per cent) of available deals, amounting to 1,492 products, vanishing in just two weeks.

Bank of England likely to make two quarter-point increases amid sustained rise in inflation, investors believe

Many mortgage deals will return – but repriced at higher rates, experts say

Iran War boosts expectations of higher inflation and interest rates – shaking the market for mortgage deals 

‘The reality is that a more volatile world is a more expensive world,’ says Adam French, Head of Consumer Finance at Moneyfacts. | ITV National News

The building society is breaking down the best places for buyers as the US-Iran war is expected to raise the cost of living

Conflict in the Middle East has led to over 500 mortgage deals being withdrawn from the UK market in the past week.

Conflict in the Middle East has scuppered hopes of cuts to the base rate

Yesterday’s Bank of England’s base rate decision has many concerned that mortgage repayments could spike later in the year

All of the biggest banks, including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, NatWest and Santander, have raised rates since the beginning of March.

‘War in the Middle East is hammering Londoners looking to buy or remortgage,’ says Adam French, head of consumer finance at Moneyfacts

Lenders have hiked rates on new deals and withdrawn products as war creates uncertainty in the markets.

Sub-4% mortgages have met a rapid demise as the Middle East crisis causes global economic uncertainty