Mortgage rates remain unsettled with mixed movement seen for all main product types over the past three months, according to Mortgage Brain’s latest product data analysis.
Its latest data (as of 1 November 2015) show that a mix of rate increases and decreases, as well as a number of rate freezes, have been recorded for the lowest rate two and five year fixed and tracker mortgages since August 2015.
The lowest rate two year fixed product with a 90% LTV, for example, fell by 7% during the past quarter – down from 2.45% in August to 2.28%. The same product with a 60% LTV, by comparison, saw a 10% increase over the same period with its current rate of 1.15% up from 1.05% in August.
The lowest rate five year fixed products with a 60% and 90% LTV also saw a rate rise of 10% over the past three months – up from 0.99% to 1.09% for both products.
The lowest rate two and five year trackers, however, have remained inactive in terms of rate movement over the short term with mortgage rates remaining static with those offered at the beginning of August 2015.
The best rate currently available comes in the shape of a two year tracker with a 60% LTV, with the lowest rate listed at 0.98%; the same product with a 90% LTV is available with a rate of 1.99%, while the lowest rate five year products are listed with a rate of 2.59% (60% LTV) and 3.65% (90% LTV).
While mixed movement has been seen over the short term the longer term analysis still shows that mortgage rates across the board are much lower than they were this time last year.
With a current rate of 1.09%, the lowest rate five year fixed (90% LTV) is now 70% lower than it was in November 2014, while its 60% LTV counterpart is 58% lower.
A 23% rate reduction over the same period has also been seen for the lowest rate two year fixed products (60% and 90% LTV) and the lowest rate two year tracker with a current rate of 1.99% is now 20% lower than it was a year ago (2.49%).
Mark Lofthouse, CEO of Mortgage Brain, said: “While interest rates have fluctuated over the past three months – bringing a mix of good news and bad news for borrowers – the longer term analysis is still very favourable with the majority of products benefiting from significant rate drops over the past 12 months.
“The 70% rate drop for the lowest rate five year fixed product, for example, equates to an annual saving of just over £3,800 on a £150k mortgage and the 23% rate reduction for the lowest rate two year fixed product equates to a potential annual reduction of £1,005.”
In comparison to its mainstream product review, Mortgage Brain’s latest buy-to-let data, shows a healthy spread of rate reductions for the majority of the sector’s most popular products.
An 18% rate reduction over the past quarter has seen the lowest rate two year fixed buy-to-let product (80% LTV) drop from 3.95% to 3.24%. Similarly, the lowest rate two year tracker (80% LTV) fell 15% since August – down from 3.50% to 2.99%.
An 8% and 5% rate drop has also been seen for the lowest rate five year fixed products with a 60% and 80% LTV – down from 3.24% to 2.99% and 4.45% to 4.24% respectively.
