It joins other big firms in slashing mortgage rates
Santander, another one of the UK’s largest mortgage lenders, has reduced selected residential purchase and remortgage fixed rates by up to 29 basis points (bps).
Selected fixed rates on its new business range were slashed by between 5bps and 29bps.
Its 75% loan-to-value (LTV) five-year fixed rate residential purchase mortgage with a £999 product fee is now priced at 5.30%, down from 5.59%. The no product fee option now has a rate of 5.46%, previously 5.75%.
The lender’s 75% LTV two-year fixed rate residential purchase mortgage with no product fee is now priced at 6.22%, from 6.49% previously. The rate of its 85% LTV two-year fix residential purchase mortgage with a £999 product fee is now 6.09%, down from 6.27%, while the 90% LTV two-year fix residential purchase mortgage with no purchase fee now has a reduced rate 6.57%, from 6.69%.
Santander said no changes were made to its residential trackers and its buy-to-let range, as well as to its product transfer rates.
Full details of Santander’s new business range can be found in its latest rate bulletin, posted on its website.
Santander’s rate reductions – effective from today, August 14 – follow rate cuts made recently by other high street lenders such as HSBC, Halifax, NatWest, first direct, Nationwide Building Society, and TSB. This was the second time this month that Santander has reduced fixed mortgage rates.
“Santander is the latest lender to enter the price fray,” commented Peter Stamford, director of Moor Mortgages. “Borrowers and brokers alike will certainly welcome them aboard.
“If a couple more large lenders jump in, too, we might toast the UK mortgage market’s brightest week for quite some time. All eyes are on [this] week’s jobs data and inflation numbers. [This] week is going to be a big one for borrowers.”
Justin Moy, founder of EHF Mortgages, agreed that it was great to see more rate reductions from one of the high street mortgage lenders.
“With the positive GDP figures, along with inflation figures due shortly, it’s certainly a brave move by Santander,” he said. “The fact this move came after the GDP data published early on Friday may suggest Santander thinks we’re at, or at least near, the peak of interest rates.”
For Gary Boakes, director of Verve Financial, it was “like watching dominoes fall: when one goes, they all start to fall.”
“With HSBC, Halifax, NatWest, and Santander making reductions, it really is a case of who’s next,” Boakes said. “The recent positive news on core inflation and only a 0.25% base rate increase is making the market reassess after the big rate rises in June.”
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