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Halifax announces further price reductions on selected 5-year fixed rates

Journalist: Newspage News desk, Freelance

ended 17. August 2023

Halifax has announced a further round of price reductions on selected 5-year fixed rates from Monday 21st August. Free UK news agency, Newspage, asked brokers if other lenders are likely to follow suit, and why this has happened despite the fact swap rates have risen over the past few days. Their views are below.

6 responses from the Newspage community

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Darryl Dhoffer
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
It appears the Halifax is filling up its August mortgage shopping trolley while it can. I'm sure the past few months have been horrendous for new business volumes for many lenders, and they have loan books to fill and shareholders to appease. For those borrowers pondering and thinking these rate drops are the norm, grab them while you can, as they may not be around in a few weeks or months.
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Clive Read
Owner at Goldmanread
As a large national lender, Halifax has the margins and reach to lower rates whilst retaining a profitable mortgage book. Aside from that, as part of the largest banking group in the UK, they need to demonstrate that they are supporting UK homeowners and consumers. Their move is likely to be followed by the other large lenders in this space though we may not see much movement from the smaller players.
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Riz Malik
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
This is positive news from the Halifax, especially after the recent wage growth data and persistent core inflation figures. No doubt the Government will claim credit for Halifax’s reduction in rates like they are doing with other positive news at present.
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Ranald Mitchell
Director at Charwin Mortgages
This is latest smash-and-grab from one of the major lenders. The fight is clearly on to grab summer applications to boost underwhelming lending numbers. I am feeling the window of opportunity will be short and everyone needs to jump on the current downward rate race as soon as they can. I still expect the base rate to hit 6%+ by April 2024 and with swap rates rebounding, could the party soon be over?
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Jamie Lennox
Director at Dimora Mortgages
It's great to see the UK's biggest mortgage lender return with a further reduction on selected products. This is a positive boost for the mortgage and property market given that markets are baking in further base rate increases following core inflation remaining sticky. It's likely that the speed at which rates went up caused a firm halt in the number of new applications being received and we may now see lenders chasing their tails in the months to come to try and make up for being behind on their targets for the year. Only time will tell, but we hope to see more lenders follow.
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Peter Stamford
Mortgage Expert at Stamford Home Finance
Halifax is making assertive moves to bolster its mortgage portfolio, a likely response to the subdued business volumes in recent months. With markets anticipating further base rate hikes due to persistent core inflation, the UK's leading mortgage lender's rate reductions may be short-lived. As the industry sees a slowdown in new applications, other lenders might soon follow Halifax's lead. Borrowers should seize these opportunities, but with caution, as the financial climate remains unpredictable.