With the doom-mongering of a potential property price plunge, anxiety over Brexit and August’s base rate rise, it’s surprising to learn that for remortgages and buy to let landlords it’s a great time to borrow.
Whether you are a remortgager or landlord, the mortgage market continues to defy expectations with the availability of low rate deals and expanding product ranges. Buy-to-let mortgage rates are at their lowest since 2012, and there are two-year fixed remortgages available at more competitive rates than most tracker and variable mortgages.
Buy-to-let bounces back
Data from the Bank of England shows the average buy-to-let mortgage rate at 75% loan to value (LTV) has dropped to 2.27% – its lowest in 6 years. Both Lloyds and The Mortgage Works (Nationwide) have been reviewing their buy-to-let offering. The Mortgage Works has reduced its two-year fixed rate to 1.49% with a £1,995 fee, and Lloyds have scrapped the £295 mortgage account fee, capped its revaluation fee at £300 and removed a £100 administration fee.
Low rates on remortgages
According to moneyfacts.co.uk, the average two-year fixed rate mortgage has only increased by 0.28% since its record low last year. In fact, since the base rate rise in August the average two-year fixed rate has fallen from 2.52% to 2.49% today, and five- year fixes have fallen by 0.02%.
HSBC are offering 1.49% fixed for two years at 60% LTV and 1.54% at 75% LTV, RBS 1.53% at 60% LTV and Barclays 1.58% at 75% LTV. In fact, there are two-year fixed deals available for as low as 1.39%.
While rates are indeed higher than this time last year and are unlikely to return to the lows preceding October 2017, borrowers are encouraged to be vigilant when seeking a new deal because if you know what to look for, there are good deals available. Checking out the best mortgage buys and assessing the true cost of a mortgage – not just the headline rate – will enable borrowers to identify the most advantageous deals for their circumstances.
