Darren Cook, mortgage expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, commented: “It is now three weeks since the peak in swap rates and we would expect to see the cost of fixed rate deals starting to fall, but this isn’t the case. In fact the opposite is true, with rates continuing to rise.
“Borrowers hoping to fix their mortgage repayments for three years are being hardest hit, with the average rate now standing at a staggering 7.25%. Two year fixed rate deals have also not being immune, with the average increasing to 7.07%.
“Some lenders, including Abbey and Cheltenham & Gloucester have recently announced cuts in their fixed rate deals. However, Halifax has increased rates by up to 0.20%, while NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland have increased rates by up to 0.40%.
“Our two, three and five year fixed rate best buys are now entirely dominated by deals over 6%. This time last year, deals over 6% didn’t even make the best buys. There are still a handful of sub 6% deals, but these come with such high fees that any benefit from having the slightly lower rate is likely to be wiped out by the fee.
“There doesn’t appear to be any let up in the misery for borrowers. Lenders need to start playing the game fairly and pass on the cut in swap rates as quickly as they pass on the increase.”
