Halifax latest lender to announce mortgage rate changes
Halifax is the latest high street lender to announce mortgage rate changes (see screengrab below). Newspage asked brokers for their views, bottom.
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14 responses from the Newspage communityCopy all
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Yet another increase from a high street lender and more mortgage pain for consumers. It is interesting that they are increasing their existing client and remortgage rates more than their purchase products. Clearly, they are trying to continue to encourage first-time buyers and home movers to continue to be active in the market.
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More doom and gloom as Halifax are the latest lender to increase rates. There's a bit of respite for remortgaging at higher loan-to-value levels, but a quick check of these rates show they are already quite uncompetitive in this space, so is only really bringing them in line with other lenders. We can only hope next week's Budget will provide some relief from the constant rate increases seen over the past few weeks. After a sweet start to 2024, the mortgage mood has soured.
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The only cosistency we are getting from lenders at present is inconsistency. The mortgage world right now is as mad as a box of frogs.
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Halifax did seem out of step with the majority of the market last week, reducing rates when everyone else was pushing them up. They'll likely have received a lot of applications as a result, meaning they've had to rejoin the pack to slow business volumes. Their rate changes will affect new and existing borrowers alike as the rate rollercoaster shows no signs of slowing.
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These increases are not huge spikes so it looks to me like this is a tactical increase to manage case loads within the bank. SWAP rates appear more stable over the past two days, so I hope that there could be a few reductions on the horizon. The rate war feels like years ago, so a Spring bounce would be lovely.
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With this move by the Halifax, all of the top 6 lenders have now increased mortgage rates in recent days, and all are now battening down the hatches for what would appear to be a bumpy ride ahead. As we head into the spring, it's starting to feel like winter again from a mortgage perspective.
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Let's hope this is merely a temporary measure to ensure the Halifax can service the business coming in through the doors. Now, more than ever, speaking to a broker is essential as rates changes are happening super quick, You snooze you lose.
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More news that's likley to stiffle the mortgage and property markets. Halifax is playing catch up with some of the other lenders and they did look out place with the reduction announcement. Borrowers are going to be worrying about where rates are going and all eyes are now focused sharply on the Chancellor and the Bank of England. March is going to be a big month for borrowers and will either make or break the rest of 2024.
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Halifax's recent hike in mortgage rates follows a trend seen across the industry, likely driven by increased demand and the need to maintain service standards. With the upcoming Budget announcement, there's anticipation for positive developments within the mortgage and property market, which is crucial for its stability and growth.
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Halifax will be making changes to reduce business volumes. Swaps rates have been slowly but surely increasing and this is reflected in the current rate increases from other lenders. No lender wants to be the cheapest right now in a complete change around compared to last month.
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Many of the lenders are pushing up their rates again and they are getting more expensive. While rates are higher, they still offer reasonable value for money. If you are on the hunt for a mortgage, it is well worth securing a competitively priced deal while you can. Prices are going up and it may take a while for them to come back down again. You can always switch to a cheaper rate as and when it becomes available. If these price hikes continue the market could slow down, although if the government announce a 1% deposit mortgage in the Budget next week there could be another market frenzy.
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Lloyds Banking Group, through their Halifax brand, has sadly joined the majority pack of lenders in announcing an increase in mortgage rates from 1st March. Despite recently having run in the other direction, the largest mortgage lender in the UK has stopped lowering and started uppring rates. Probably, this is due to them feeling exposed to excessive business volumes in their recent downward decisions. The only good news is that this lender have the decency to give a reasonable period of warning unlike some High Street lenders who announce at 4pm increases from 8pm the same day, creating overtime havoc for financial advice firms. This all being said we expect in the next two weeks for rates to start edging downwards again.
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Further rate rises from the UK's largest mortgage lender is depressing news after recent falls. Hopefully, this is short-term measure to dampen demand whilst they clear their backlog of applications. A Bank of England base rate cut can't come soon enough.
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It was inevitable that Halifax would make such a move, when all their direct rivals had increased they couldn't be the outlier. Just to manage business volumes and service levels alone they were forced into this move. Hopefully this is a temporary blip and that hostilities will resome shortly in the rate war.