Nationwide, NatWest and TSB cut mortgage rates for buyers with smaller deposits
- Nationwide is offering the lowest five-year fixed-rate period for a 5% down payment starting tomorrow
Major lenders today announced that they are further reducing mortgage rates for fixed terms.
Nationwide Building Society, NatWest and TSB have all announced they will be adjusting mortgage rates.
Those who will benefit most from the latest cuts are first-time homebuyers and people moving house with a smaller down payment.
The latest announcements come hot on the heels of announcements from Barclays and TSB earlier this week, which cut mortgage rates, including 5 percent down payments.
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Cheaper deals: Nationwide, NatWest and TSB cut rates from tomorrow
Nationwide is reducing rates by up to 0.25 percentage points for fixed products with terms of two, three and five years for buyers with a down payment of 25 to 5 percent of the purchase price.
From tomorrow, Britain’s largest co-op is offering the lowest interest rates on the market for first-time homebuyers and movers willing to put down a 5 per cent deposit.
The five-year fixed deal charges 5.04 per cent with a fee of £999. On a £200,000 mortgage repaid over 25 years, that works out at £1,174 a month.
Henry Jordan, chief executive of Nationwide Building Society, said: “These latest reductions ensure we have some of the most competitive rates on the market, with a particular focus on supporting first-time home buyers in what remains a challenging environment.”
Mark Harris, managing director of mortgage adviser SPF Private Clients, added: ‘First-time homebuyers need all the help they can get, especially as they typically pay higher mortgage rates than those with more equity.
‘These reductions are part of the general fall in mortgage prices and will be welcomed by those trying to get a mortgage.
‘Lenders are competing for new customers, so if someone goes now, others often follow. That means other lenders may cut prices even further.’
In another welcome change for first-time homebuyers and those with smaller down payments, NatWest has also announced fixed rate cuts of up to 0.19 percentage points on selected products with loan-to-value ratios of 90 per cent and 95 per cent.
Ken James, director at Contractor Mortgage Services, told the Newspage news agency: ‘NatWest has just delivered a huge boost to people with smaller deposits, sending a signal to other lenders that this is the end of the market which needs more support.
‘We’ve seen lenders being able to offer these rate reductions and agents are starting to see buyers returning to the market with a renewed sense of positivity.
‘Let’s hope this will also trickle down to other lenders, so that we get more competition in these higher loan-to-value classes.’
TSB is also cutting interest rates, but not in the high loan-to-value brackets. Rates are changing on deals that require a deposit of 15 percent or more.
Starting tomorrow, TSB will reduce rates by a maximum of 0.35 percentage points. This will benefit first-home buyers, people moving and customers refinancing their mortgages, among others.
TSB reports that rates will start at 3.79 percent from tomorrow, which is close to the lowest rate currently offered by NatWest on the market, at 3.77 percent.