{"id":128192,"date":"2026-11-04T11:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T11:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=128192"},"modified":"2026-11-04T10:19:58","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T10:19:58","slug":"mortgage-rates-drop-below-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/mortgage-rates-drop-below-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Mortgage Rates Drop Below 5% as Three Major UK Banks Make an Unexpected Move"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The reductions, announced on 3 November, come after a period of rising mortgage costs linked to inflation concerns and the conflict in the Middle East. Although some deals are now available below 5%, average fixed mortgage rates <\/strong>remain close to 6%, leaving many homeowners facing expensive borrowing conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Halifax and Barclays Reduce Rates Across Mortgage Products<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Halifax, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, has cut rates by up to 0.22 percentage points <\/strong>across several products, including deals for existing homeowners and customers looking to remortgage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The changes took effect on 3 November and cover two, three and five-year fixed-rate remortgage products. Halifax has also reduced rates on two-year tracker mortgages by up to 0.11 percentage points<\/strong>, while product transfers and further advances have received reductions of up to 0.22 percentage points on selected two and five-year fixes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barclays has introduced larger reductions, cutting rates by up to 0.30 percentage points across its residential purchase and remortgage ranges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to This is Money<\/a>, Barclays’ cheapest available mortgage rate is now 4.89%, while Halifax offers deals starting at 4.93%. These headline rates are aimed at borrowers with substantial deposits or equity in their properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lowest rates are available at 60% loan-to-value (LTV), meaning borrowers must have at least 40% equity or provide an equivalent deposit. At 75% LTV and above, no mainstream lender is currently offering rates below 5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nationwide <\/strong>is also reducing rates by up to 0.15 percentage points from 4 November, reflecting wider competition among lenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these reductions, the average two-year fixed mortgage stands at 5.97%, while the average five-year fix is 5.99%, according to Moneyfacts figures reported by This is Money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Halifax and Barclays Cut Mortgage Rates As Deals Below 5% Return \u00a9Canva<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why Mortgage Rates Are Falling Despite an Expected Interest Rate Rise<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Bank of England<\/strong> is expected to increase its base rate from 3.75% to 4% on Thursday, 5 November, as policymakers respond to concerns about rising inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The renewed escalation of the conflict involving Iran has increased concerns about energy costs and broader household expenses. Mortgage rates rose during the summer and autumn as financial markets anticipated higher interest rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fixed mortgage pricing, though, does not simply follow the Bank of England’s current base rate. It is heavily influenced by swap rates, which reflect expectations about future borrowing costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to iNews<\/a>, five-year swap rates stand at 4.61%, while two-year swaps are at 4.6%. Their recent stability has given lenders greater scope to adjust mortgage pricing despite the anticipated increase in the base rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competition is another factor. With fewer buyers active in the housing market, lenders are seeking to attract customers and meet lending targets before the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nick Mendes, a mortgage expert at John Charcol, explained that swap rates had remained broadly stable rather than falling sharply, allowing lenders to offer selected mortgages<\/a> below 5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reductions do not necessarily signal a sustained decline in mortgage costs. Manooch Suree, director of Zinga Financial Services, described the changes as “targeted repricing and not a wave”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For homeowners approaching the end of a fixed-rate agreement, brokers suggest reviewing available deals rather than assuming further reductions are imminent. Many lenders allow borrowers to secure a new rate up to six months before their existing mortgage expires.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Halifax and Barclays have reduced mortgage rates by up to 0.22 and 0.30 percentage points respectively, offering some relief to borrowers ahead of an expected Bank of England interest rate rise this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128192"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128196,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128192\/revisions\/128196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}