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Are clients coming to you earlier because they're worried about their next fix?

ended 18. September 2026

Over the past twelve months, UK searches for "fixed rate mortgage" have more than doubled — up 109% comparing the first thirteen weeks of the period with the most recent thirteen. Searches for "Bank of England base rate" have fallen 15% over the same period. Searches for "remortgage" are up 53%.

Interest in the Bank is episodic. It spikes on decision days and collapses within a week. Interest in fixed rates is sustained and climbing.

Which is interesting, because around 85% of borrowers are on a fix, and a fix has nothing to watch — the rate is locked regardless of what the Bank does. What they are looking at is the rate they will be offered next. UK Finance puts 1.8 million fixed deals ending this year, after 1.6 million last year.

And they have reason to look. On Thursday the Bank held at 3.75% for the sixth time, while the average two-year fix has risen from 5.61% to 5.73% over the past month, and the five-year from 5.64% to 5.78%.

Sources: Google Trends, UK, weekly relative search interest, 14 September 2025 to 13 September 2026. Fixed-rate share and maturity volumes, UK Finance. Average rates, Moneyfacts.

Questions

  1. Are clients coming to you earlier than they used to before their fixed deal ends? How much earlier, and has that changed over the past year or two?
  2. What are they actually worried about? Is it the rate itself, affordability, or not knowing what to expect?
  3. Do people understand what sets a fixed rate? What do you find yourself having to explain about the relationship between Bank Rate and what lenders charge?
  4. Has anyone waited for a Bank Rate cut, expecting it to lower the fixed rate they'd be offered, and been wrong?
  5. For someone whose deal ends in six months, what should they be watching — and when should they act?

9 responses from the Newspage community

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Harry GoodliffeVerified
Director at HTG Mortgages
People aren't scared of the Bank of England anymore. They're more scared of the letter from their lender. Clients ring me six months out, sometimes more, and hardly any of them will ask about the Bank of England. They ask what their new payment will be. The bit I end up explaining most weeks is that a base rate hold doesn't mean your fix stays put. Rates have jumped in a month while the Bank did nothing. With 1.8 million deals ending this year, that's a lot of people who could be in for a shock.
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Justin MoyVerified
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
I have had many clients think that the base rate announcement would be setting mortgage rates, so waiting to see what the Bank of England announce first. We look to educate around how fixed rates are priced, and that the amount of change in 2026 without one base rate change should highlight that mortgage rate pricing is more fluid than many understand. We look to contact as early as possible, more clients are responding to our call-to-action and we are securing more deals as a result. The ability to make changes in the 4-6 month window is reassuring to borrowers. There will always be those who wait last minute for improvements, let your broker do that on your behalf.
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Tracey DixonVerified
Buy-to-Let Mortgage Specialist & Owner at Pure Mortgage and Protection
Clients are contacting me four to six months before their fixed deal ends because they are worried about payment shock, not just the headline rate. They want to know what their next mortgage could cost and how it will affect their monthly budget.

Many still assume a Bank Rate cut automatically means cheaper fixed mortgages. It does not. Fixed rates are influenced by swap rates, lender funding costs and competition, so they can rise even when Bank Rate is held.

Starting early does not mean committing immediately. It allows borrowers to understand their options, secure a suitable deal where appropriate and continue reviewing the market. Starting early creates choices; waiting until the final few weeks removes them.
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Craig FishVerified
Director at Lodestone Mortgages
Six months out is when most clients get in touch, that hasn't changed. What has changed is why they're calling: it's not the rate, it's not knowing what's coming next. Most still think a fixed rate follows the base rate and it doesn't. Lenders price fixed deals off swap rates, which is exactly why the Bank held at 3.75% on Thursday for the sixth time running yet the average two year fix still climbed from 5.61% to 5.73%, and five year fixes rose from 5.64% to 5.78%. Wait for a Bank Rate cut hoping your fix follows and you're usually waiting for a headline that was never going to move your number. My advice hasn't changed, paying a penalty to move early rarely stacks up, but the day you're six months from expiry, call a broker. Not to remortgage that day, but to have someone watching the market for you while you get on with your life.
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Ross LaceyVerified
Director at Fairview Financial Management
We get in touch with clients proactively 6 months before their current mortgage deal ends. Go back a couple of years, and people were often surprised we spoke that far in advance. Now, we have clients contacting us more than 6 months ahead, asking what their options are, concerned about rates.

There are still a number of people on very competitive fixed rates starting with a 1 or 2. Part of our role is to prepare them for the new rate and look at ways to soften the blow of higher monthly payments.

We'd advise getting a deal locked in as early as possible, then reassessing how rates move in the lead up to existing deals ending. That way, better rates can be locked in if they come up, but there's protection should they worsen.
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Manooch SureeVerified
Director at Zinga Financial Services
A lot of clients still believe fixed mortgage rates are driven solely by Bank of England rate decisions, which simply isn’t the case. We often have to explain that fixed rates are influenced by several factors, including swap rates and lenders’ funding costs. We’ve always contacted clients six months before their deal ends, but we’re now finding more are willing to secure a new rate earlier rather than wait and see. The biggest concern is increasingly uncertainty rather than short-term rate movements. We’re also seeing more clients choose five-year fixes over two-year deals because they value knowing what their payments will be for longer, particularly while the economic outlook remains uncertain.
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Michelle LawsonVerified
Director at Lawson Financial
People are worried and budgets are squeezed by the day. Fixed rates are rapidly rising due to the coninuef instability in the Middle East and a Government that is way out of control of its own budget management. Early intervention is best- if your broker is getting in touch, don’t ’wait and see’ as this could be costly.

Something has to give, borrowers are panicking- just yesterday I had customers coming off 0.99% fixed rates and being met with rates 5 times that.
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Richard DavidsonVerified
Mortgage Advisor at onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk
Most of the people I speak to aren't coming to me early. They're hanging on in the hope rates will be lower in a few months, and for the past couple of years that hope has been wrong. The Bank held rates again this week and fixed deals have still crept up, because lenders price fixes on what markets expect over the next two or five years, not on what the Bank did on the day.

If your deal ends within six months, book something now rather than waiting for a cut that may never reach your rate anyway. Most lenders will let you move to a cheaper deal if rates fall before you complete, so locking in early protects you if they rise and costs you very little if they don't.
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Nick GattiVerified
Mortgage Adviser at NG Mortgages
100% we’re seeing this, more than usual too. We’ve seen a surge of customers getting in touch 5, 6, even 7 months before their current fixed rate ends. Especially those coming off sub-2%, 5 year fixes.

It’s not the wrong thing to do either. Especially with a lot of lenders reducing the lead time on their product switches to 3 or 4 months. The plan for most now seems to be get everything prepped as early as possible, lock in a new rate at bang on 6 months and then (most importantly), watch the market! If the rates keep going up, then great, they’ve locked in at the best time. If they go down, they can usually hop over to a cheaper rate as and when it becomes available, before their current deal ends. At the end of the day, starting early just gives them more options.