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Halifax increases fixed rates by up to 0.2% in "bitter blow to borrowers"

ended 11. March 2024

Halifax have just announced fixed rates are increasing by up to 0.2% from Wednesday, joining Santander, Co-op and other high street lenders with higher rates on the first day of this week. Newpage asked mortgage brokers for their reaction to this, and why the mortgage market has started this week on such a dour note. Their views can be found below..

11 responses from the Newspage community

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Dariusz Karpowicz
Director at Albion Financial Advice
The news today is a mixed bag for mortgage hopefuls. Santander and NatWest's rate hikes are certainly a setback, especially after the recent optimism around falling swap rates. However, those swap rates, which reflect lenders' borrowing costs, have been dropping in the 5-year market, leading some brokers to believe mortgage rates may actually fall in the coming weeks. The key factor to watch is next week's inflation figures. If they show a decrease, it could signal the Bank of England is nearing a pause, or even a cut, in interest rates. This would likely translate to lower mortgage rates from lenders. The disappointing Spring Budget, which lacked significant measures to address the UK housing market, certainly doesn't help. It reinforces the idea that affordability will remain a challenge, even if rates do come down.
So, while today's news is discouraging, there's still a chance for better rates in the near future.
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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
More disappointment in the mortgage market, with the UK's largest lender also now increasing rates this week following others earlier in the day. This is a bitter blow to borrowers, especially when we are rapidly moving towards the most important time of the year for buying and selling property. Rates need to fall, and fall quickly, to rescue both the economy and property market.
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Katy Eatenton
Mortgage & Protection Specialist at Lifetime Wealth Management
This week hasn't started how we would have hoped. Three of the big six lenders have now announced rate increases. This is even worse given that many high street banks aren't currently sourcing at the top of the list when looking for products. This confirms that they are not increasing prices to reduce volumes of business, so they may be anticipating that the next set of inflation data may not be as positive as we would like.
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Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
With the UK's largest mortgage lender piling on the misery following rate increases from Natwest, Santander and Co-op, it is going to be a busy day for brokers as they scramble to secure rates for their clients. These increases show that the markets do not have renewed confidence following last week's Budget. It's not been the best of starts to the week for borrowers.
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Shaun Sturgess
Director at Sturgess Mortgage Solutions
Yet another small increase from another High Street lender. This is the start to the week that nobody wanted and is sure to have a negative impact on potential new borrowers and purchasers. Hopefully, Halifax are simply turning the tap off as they have dominated the top of the sourcing systems and more than likely had their fill for the time being. It will be interesting to see who picks up where they left off at the top of the charts. As a broker, it is highly frustrating having to amend your recommendations within minutes of providing them but it really does enhance our value to borrowers.
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Ranald Mitchell
Director at Charwin Mortgages
Yet another lender putting rates up following on from Santander, NatWest and Co-op. This latest round of hikes will be viewed as market exploitation by cynics, especially given underlying SWAP market rates appear to be easing down. This could be a smash and grab by mortgage providers before a spate of potential rate cuts.
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Darryl Dhoffer
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
Are we missing something here? SWAP rates are reducing yet lenders are increasing mortgage rates. There's no logic to mortgage pricing right now.
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Ken James
Director at Contractor Mortgage Services
Looking for positives in the mortgage market is like getting blood from a stone. The Market is proving tough these days. Every email we seem to receive from lenders is a rate rise. Whilst there is a sense that with 5-year swap rates coming down, lenders may soon follow suit, the negative start to the week does not bode well. They have at least given us a window of time to speak to our clients, which makes a change.
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Mark Robinson
Managing Director at Albion Forest Mortgages
Being a broker gets more stressful by the day. Within minutes of making a recommendation you are having to email the clients to let them know this is only valid for (basically) 24 hours as the lender is increasing rates after that point. It is making it ever more important to have a good broker that can provide this insight or potentially risk losing out on a good rate. In such a fast-moving rate environment, brokers prove their worth.
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Akhil Mair
Director at Our Mortgage Broker
As a mortgage broker, the latest news from Halifax is deeply concerning. The announcement of fixed rates increasing by up to 0.2% from Wednesday evening adds to the growing list of lenders implementing higher rates, including Santander, Co-op, and others this week. For those in the process of applying for a new mortgage or considering refinancing their current low fixed-rate deals, this development casts a long shadow of uncertainty. It not only complicates financial planning but also puts pressure on individuals and families trying to secure stable and affordable housing financing. The ripple effect of these rate increases could potentially disrupt the mortgage market, making it more challenging for borrowers to find favorable terms and locking them into higher monthly payments. This news underscores the importance of staying vigilant and being proactive in monitoring mortgage rates and exploring all available options with the guidance of experienced professionals.
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Gareth Davies
Director at South Coast Mortgage Services
Do these lenders know something we don't or are they being greedy? Everything is pointing towards an improving rate climate, yet a number of the 'big boys' are upping their rates again already this week. Because one has done it, everyone else seems to follow suit. Lenders appear to be acting like lemmings.