Coventry increasing mortgage rates

It was inevitable that Coventry have increased their rates following the trend of other lenders who increased their rates throughout the week. Coventry has always given brokers ample notice when rates are going to increase. They are one of the better lenders in communicating important information to their brokers.

It is not unexpected that another lender has chosen to emulate the actions of a few other lenders this week, likely in response to heightened swap rates. Nonetheless, it is admirable that Coventry Building Society provides brokers with a generous 48-hour advance notice before implementing such changes. This gives brokers ample time to prepare and submit applications, and may serve as a best practice for other lenders to consider adopting.

There's two factors at play here I think. The first is that swap rates rose steadily throughout February. The second is mortgage demand was low in January, which meant mainstream lenders were falling over themselves to offer the best deal, and cut rates accordingly. Other lenders have increased their rates this week, and Coventry is following suit. If they'd left their rates where they were, they'd risk being swamped by applications.

What Coventry can be applauded for is that they always give plenty of notice of rate changes unlike other lenders. These rate rises are fairly commonplace at the minute. In my mind, lenders appear to be pricing in for future Bank of England base rate rises and Coventry are just following the market.