It reduces new business rates by up to 45bps
For the second time in five days, NatWest has made changes – mostly rate reductions – to its new and existing customer product ranges.
Rate cuts were made on selected new business two- and five-year deals: on purchase by up to 45 basis points (bps), on remortgage by up to 24bps, on first-time buyer by up to 28bps, on shared equity purchase by up to 23bps, on green buy-to-let for purchase by up to 35bps, and on green BTL for remortgage by up to 14bps.
On its Help to Buy shared equity remortgage, the lender increased the rates of selected two- and five-year deals by up to 5bps, but reduced the rate of the 60% loan-to-value (LTV) five-year deal with £995 product fee by 4bps.
The existing customer switcher rate was also slashed by up to 9bps and 14bps on selected two- and five-year deals.
“With lenders now realising that their hasty rate increases in June had killed the purchaser market, they are all backtracking and lowering rates, which is great, but it feels like they could be doing more if they really want to get people back out looking,” stated Gary Boakes, director at Verve Financial. “But as always, good news and any rate reductions are welcome in this current market.”
Lewis Shaw, owner of Shaw Financial Services, said NatWest had “been off the boil for so long” that they had to price aggressively to get any sort of volume of new business through its doors.
“This is fantastic news for consumers looking to buy or needing to remortgage,” Shaw continued. “Moreover, anyone out there with a NatWest mortgage offer in their hands should be getting on the phone with their broker to see if they can benefit from the second reduction by a big six lender in as many weeks, before their completion date.”
Peter Stamford, director and lead adviser at Moor Mortgages, also commented that as the market buzzed with plummeting rates, there was a risk that borrowers may adopt a wait-and-see stance, anticipating even lower rates.
“It seems yesterday’s wage uptick data isn’t deterring lenders, especially with anticipated positive inflation outcomes,” Stamford said. “As the month progresses, expect more aggressive moves from high street lenders, signalling strong lending and buying appetite.”
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