'Rate war' may be on the horizon, says broker
NatWest has announced rate cuts on its new and existing customer product ranges for the second time within a week, with reduced rates available from tomorrow, September 8.
On the lender’s new business range, residential purchase and remortgage had their rates reduced by up to 0.18% and 0.12% respectively. Also cut were rates of selected first-time buyer (by up to 0.15%), shared equity purchase (by up to 0.28%), and green purchase (by up to 0.18%) and green remortgage products (by up to 0.12%).
For existing customers, rates on selected two- and five-year switcher deals were lowered by up to 0.30% and 0.09%, respectively, while selected two- and five-year buy-to-let switcher deals were slashed by up to 0.15% and 0.20%, respectively.
Read the latest Natwest mortgage rate data using the link.
“Just a few days since their last repricing, this is evidence that the rate chase is well underway,” remarked Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages. “The high street lenders are definitely trying to lead the best buy tables and grab more market share. It will take much deeper rate reductions to make a real difference, but any improvements are welcome.”
Natwest decreasing selected rates again. Expecting the rate rollback to continue but the reductions to be small but often so lenders don't get caught out. #mortgage #natwest #interestrates
— Riz Malik (@Riz_1) September 7, 2023
Charles Breen, founder and director at Montgomery Financial, was similarly pleased that another “big six lender” continued to cut rates, following suit from others who have also done the same over the past weeks.
“Yes, it’s a relatively small reduction in rates, but a reduction nonetheless and is an indication of travel for the future,” he stressed. “This can only be a positive and with swap rates continuing to fall, hopefully, we will see more positive news like this.”
Craig Fish, director at Lodestone Mortgages and Protection, believes that with major lenders slashing their mortgage rates more frequently, we may be seeing the beginning of a rate war.
“Another lender reducing rates, especially considering it’s the second time this week for this lender, is certainly a sign that one may be on the horizon as lenders realise they are a long way short of their lending targets for the year,” Fish pointed out. “Expect more of the same over the next couple of weeks in light of the positive comments from Andrew Bailey yesterday.”
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