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Mortgage rates lasting just two weeks

Journalist: Callum Mason, i

ended 13. March 2024

According to Moneyfacts, The average shelf-life of a mortgage product plummeted to 15 days, a six-month low (15 days September 2023), down from 28 days at the start of February 2024. The lowest shelf-life average on our records was 12 days in July 2023.

Does this reflect brokers' experiences? And is it becoming almost impossible to deliver for customers given the rapid change of prices?

Do lenders need to keep rates for longer and give more notice?

13 responses from the Newspage community

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Shaun Sturgess
Director at Sturgess Mortgage Solutions
It's becoming more and more difficult to keep on top of the products and their changes without investing in 3rd party products. The lack of simple 24 hour notice periods makes it even more difficult for brokers, lenders such as Coventry with their 48 hour notice period really do lead the way in trying to work with and assist brokers.

It's incredibly frustrating to be constantly moving the goalposts for our existing clients as well as potential new borrowers. If the rates were changing rapidly in a positive direction though I'd have no complaints!
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Imran Hussain
Director at Harmony Financial Services
It causes nothing but stress for the borrower dnd the broker; the time products are available has become a joke more recently and for some lenders products are not lasting two weeks on the market more like two days it can feel like at times it is something we warn clients about from the get go so we can all ensure our ducks are in a row to secure the best mortgage product possible.
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Dariusz Karpowicz
Director at Albion Financial Advice
A sharp decline in mortgage product shelf-life to just 15 days, mirrors the volatility we as brokers face daily. This trend, coupled with historically low durations for mortgage offers, significantly challenges our ability to serve clients effectively amid rapidly shifting rates.

Understanding that mortgage rates, influenced by Swap rates, will fluctuate, the current rate of change, often with minimal notice, exacerbates the stress on brokers and clients alike. A more balanced approach, such as extending the notice period for rate adjustments to at least a week, would mitigate some of the pressures of the fast-paced market.
Despite these challenges, our commitment to navigating this volatile landscape and securing the best outcomes for our clients remains unwavering. We continue to adapt and strive for excellence in service, ensuring we make informed decisions that best serve our clients' interests in these uncertain times.
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Rohit Kohli
Director at The Mortgage Stop
If only the industry allowed products to be secure as part of the agreement in principle as standing (even if only for 30 days) - this would take away all the panic, stress and uncertaintly for borrowers and brokers alike. Lenders will argue that they can keep products on the shelf for longer but they will price them at higher interest rates which will drive up costs and reduce affordability. However by changing products so frequently I think its a fair challeneg from borrowers on how they can make a informed decisison if the price of their mortgage can change at such short notice. Where lenders charge eye-watering product fees I dont see any reasonable reason why those products would be need to repriced so frequently other than for maximising profit at the borrowers cost.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
Short product shelf life is just not good for the industry as a whole as it creates so much more work for everyone involved. Last minute rate pulls or an influx of business or then product changes is counterproductive. I would like to see the rate prices a few bps higher to price in any changes and then for them to stay around for more consumer certainty and broker sanity. The notice period for withdrawals is a drum the brokers keep on banging- 24hrs notice is not a big ask.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
Short product shelf life is just not good for the industry as a whole as it creates so much more work for everyone involved and it is quite overwhelming and almost an impossibility to keep on track of. Last minute rate pulls or an influx of business or then product changes is counterproductive. I would like to see the rate prices a few bps higher to price in any changes and then for them to stay around for more consumer certainty and broker sanity. The notice period for withdrawals is a drum the brokers keep on banging- 24hrs notice is not a big ask.
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Ben Perks
Managing Director at Orchard Financial Advisers
Lately, it feels much lower than 15 days. I'd imagine the next set of figures on this will show further reductions as Lenders have been chopping and changing products frequently since the Rate War grinded to a holt.
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Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
Volatile is the word best used to describe the current mortgage market, with mixed messages as different lenders announce rate increases and rate reductions on the same day, often with little notice and some are repricing twice in a week. These actions do not inspire confidence at a time it is highly needed to boost the property market and the economy.
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Ken James
Director at Contractor Mortgage Services
It's a challenging time for brokers and clients alike, the quicksand of mortgage rates means you really need to be quick to get the deal that has been presented. I completed a decision in principle a few weeks ago for one lender as the deal was 4.78% when the client came back to proceed the rate had gone up to 5.29%. A quick u-turn and now we have had to completre a new deciosn with a different lender but this needed to be done sharpish as their rate of 5.05% was expiring the same day. We seem to be in a period of rapid increases or quick decreases there is no balance, everyone is more on edge and the tension in the market is so evident you could cut it with a knife.
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Elliott Culley
Director at Switch Mortgage Finance
Lender product changes have become part of normal life and it doesn't look like changing anytime soon. This is the mortgage market right now, it is fragile and susceptible to sudden changes positive or negative. It is difficult for borrowers to make informed decisions with the current products being removed so quickly.
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Mark Robinson
Managing Director at Albion Forest Mortgages
My main shock is that rates are lasting 2 weeks on average. Some rates are being changed twice a week at the moment, meaning by the time an advisor has sent a quote to someone, and then gone through it with them, the lender might have pulled the rate.
It is a constant struggle for our advisors to stay on top of changing products for clients, and something we are having to warn them about going into the process.
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Gareth Davies
Director at South Coast Mortgage Services
The level of rate withdrawals/changes in recent times makes it incredibly difficult for a broker and therefore borrower to keep on top of. In some cases you can quote someone only for it to be invalid within hours of the quote. This means we have to push borrowers to make a decision or face losing a deal. Should making a decision on what is likely to be your biggest ever debt be something that is rushed? At times you can feel like a second-hand car salesman trying to hit a weekly target.
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Gary Bush
Financial Adviser at MortgageShop.com
If you speak to any financial adviser specialising in mortgages the ridiculous overnight removal of mortgage rates by lenders is the most stressful occurrence of recent years - speaking personally, I think it tops the Covid Lockdowns. The broker community has in the last 2 years of rate chaos seen lenders changing their rate offerings up to twice a week in some cases, and often with only a few hour's notice - some of these happening after the FCA's Consumer Duty principals coming in last year, leaving them lacking. Lenders don't seem to care that all these sudden rate changes do is leave applicants disadvantaged by this poor notice period, which in our opinion should be mandated by the regulators as at least 48 working days. This is all especially true when reading in recent financial results for financial companies of "profits are up based upon the higher mortgage interest rate environment" - this confirms that account holders are suffering while the lenders are benefitting massively.