Rule changes mean buyers could borrow up to £40,000 more than before, easing affordability pressures

Nationwide will be reducing the interest rates on some of its two, three and five-year fixed rate mortgages from tomorrow.

New mortgage rules could see average house prices rise by £19,000 and help first-time buyers with lower deposits, according to UK estate agents Savills.

Mortgage approvals for house purchases fell by 3,100 to 60,500 in April, Bank of England data shows, the third month of declines in a row.   The data follows stamp duty changes by the Treasury at the end of March, which include the nil-rate halving to £125,000 from £250,000, reversing thresholds set in the September

Net mortgage approvals for house purchases decreased by 3,100 to 60,500 in April.

Millions face higher repayments despite signs of easing rates

FIRST-TIME buyers have been given another boost after a fourth major lender slashed its affordability rules. Barclays has shaken up its mortgages, meaning buyers can borrow more. The bank and lende…

The number of mortgaged homeowners having their home repossessed jumped by nearly a fifth in the first quarter of this year, compared with the previous three months, according to figures from a banking and finance industry body.

This significant change applies whether customers are buying their first home, moving house or remortgaging

Mortgage rates continue their downward trajectory this week, with two more high street lenders announcing lower home loan deals.

It comes as more lenders are cutting rates in wake of the Bank of England base rate reduction last week

Figures show a 290% rise in mortgage borrowing, but approvals for new home purchases fell for the third month

The Bank of England said about 64,300 mortgages for house purchases got the green light in March.

There is greater competition among mortgage firms but no guarantee that rates will keep falling, brokers say.

Revolut has confirmed plans to start offering mortgages in Ireland by the end of the year.

Lenders are cutting mortgage rates – though the best deals are only available to those buying homes

Mortgage rates have started to fall since Donald Trump unveiled his tariff plans

There are hundreds of products on the market for those with a five or 10 per cent deposit

Lenders lower mortgage costs as experts forecast interest rates will be cut by more than expected.

On Wednesday, Coventry Building Society cut its two-year fixed rate to below 4%, following other UK lenders and according to experts, more are set to follow

The reductions are down to interest rate swaps – which move in line with expected changes to the Bank of England base rate – having dropped since President Trump announced his tariffs

Interest rates are forecast to fall further as Donald Trump’s trade taxes fuel economic uncertainty.

Skipton Building Society has cut interest rates across its range of fixed-rate mortgages by up to 0.32%, effective from 9am on 7th April 2025. 

UK mortgage approvals dipped in February, as the boost from homebuyers rushing to beat a tax deadline continued to wane.

British mortgage approvals cooled to a six-month low in February ahead of a rise in transaction taxes on many house purchases while consumer lending grew at the joint-slowest pace in nearly three years, Bank of England data showed on Monday.

Rates are dropping ahead of the Bank of England’s base rate announcement on 20 March

The Bank of England’s decision before the end of the month, and the Labour Party government’s Spring Budget on March 26, could be “particularly painful”

HSBC UK has reduced its standard variable rate on homeowner mortgages by 0.25 percentage points

Nationwide will offer rates as low as 3.99% to existing and to new customers looking for new deals

In the early months of 2025, lenders are racing to give the best deals to first-time buyers as the sales market gets off to a strong start. Latest data from Zoopla shows the year has kicked off with higher demand that in 2023 or 2024, as property value growth also starts to steady.

One mortgage broker said market movements ‘look to be enough to put some of the very lowest rates in peril’.

It comes as both Barclays and Santander have launched two and five-year fixed rate mortgages at 3.99 per cent

Upcoming stamp duty changes at the start of April are set to boost receipts by over £1.1bn annually, Zoopla analysis reveals. Zoopla’s data shows that

The UK’s gradual economic recovery is strengthening confidence, according to the EY ITEM Club outlook

The UK’s gradual economic recovery is strengthening confidence, according to the EY ITEM Club outlook.

Deals are available to both buyers and those remortgaging

The new deals at 3.99 per cent are part of a wider shake-up by the bank of its mortgage rates.

Find out the latest mortgage rates and deals from HSBC, NatWest, Santander, Barclays and more.

Many UK households have been warned they are “mortgage prisoners” but may not even know they are affected, with tens of thousands at risk of being left stranded in their mortgages.

Find out the latest mortgage rates and deals from HSBC, NatWest, Santander, Barclays and more.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today announced it is looking into simplifying tough borrowing criteria, which could help struggling first-time buyers finally get on the property ladder

The rate of inflation has ‘unexpectedly’ eased to 2.5 percent, the Office for National Statistics has said

Find out the latest mortgage rates and deals from HSBC, NatWest, Santander, Barclays and more.

The average price tag on a home fell by £6,395 in December, according to the latest figures from Rightmove, published today (Monday December 16).

The rate cuts affect two, three and five-year fixed rate mortgages

Find out the latest mortgage rates and deals from HSBC, NatWest, Santander, Barclays and more.

It comes as finance experts are predicting a home sales boom in the coming weeks as buyers attempt to avoid a rise in stamp duty from April 1

While the cheapest mortgage rates are edging down, the average rate across the whole of the market has been increasing.

The central bank emphasised that UK lenders remain in a strong position to support households and businesses, even if the economic backdrop deteriorates.

British lenders approved the most mortgages for house purchase since August 2022 last month but consumer credit growth slowed slightly to its weakest in nearly two years, Bank of England data showed on Friday.