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With rate cuts and a loan-to-income boost, "Nationwide have just lit a beacon for borrowers that will cut through the doom and gloom"

ended 23. September 2024

From tomorrow, Tuesday 24 September, Nationwide has announced it is reducing selected fixed rates by up to 0.31%. This includes rates across its New Business and Existing Customers Moving Home product ranges, plus its Switcher and Additional Borrowing ranges. On its Helping Hand product, the lender has also announced it is increasing the maximum Loan to Income from 5.5x to 6x. This means that first time buyers could now borrow up to 33% more. Helping Hand is available up to 95% LTV and across its 5 and 10 year fixed rate mortgages. The lender is also increasing the maximum loan size for 2 and 5 year fixed and 2 year tracker rates across selected LTV bands. Free news agency, Newspage, asked brokers and lenders for their thoughts on this, below.

11 responses from the Newspage community

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Tony Castle
Managing Director at PFG Mortgages
This is a seriously big helping hand for first-time buyers. Up to 6 times income multiples is another great step from Nationwide and will inevitably help those looking at buying a dream home that may be a little out of reach. With banks and building societies increasingly trying to compete with better rates, niche products like Helping Hand will certainly make the mortgage market more appealing to first-time buyers.
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Jack Tutton
Director at SJ Mortgages
This will be music to first-time buyers' ears, in particular people looking to buy on their own. Many struggle to borrow enough to get onto the property ladder with just a single salary, so Nationwide's move to 6 times income for their Helping Hand products will make a significant difference to prospective new home owners. Their policy changes today along with sizable reductions to some of their fixed rate products will breed more positivity in the housing market.
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Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
Nationwide have just lit a beacon for borrowers that will cut through the doom and gloom. This is a huge statement from Nationwide both in terms of the rate reductions in spite of the Bank of England holding the base rate steady and increasing the maximum loan to income ratio. This will open up additional borrowing for thousands of borrowers, allowing them to secure their dream home or even skip a step or two on the housing ladder. Bravo Nationwide.
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David Stirling
Independent Financial Advisor at Mint Wealth
Why were we even worried about the Bank of England rate hold, when Nationwide, NatWest and Accord have had more rate cuts up their sleeves all along? These are significant improvements by Nationwide to the affordability of first-time buyers, potentially increasing borrowing availability by up to 33%. With significant rate cuts and product adaptations, there must more scope for competition between the banks this week.
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Lincoln Brown
Managing Director at Larkbridge Mortgages
A number of positive moves here by Nationwide, confirming the lender as one of the main players in the first-time buyer arena. The big news here is not the rate reduction though this is incredibly welcoming, it is the increased loan to value on its Helping Hand products and the increase in the affordability calculations from 5.5x to 6x income. It will definitely make good headlines and help those trying to get on the ladder who have not been able to save a large enough deposit because of the everyday cost of living and more likely renting. All very positive from the Nationwide.
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Mark Eaton
COO at April Mortgages
It’s great to see more lenders increasing their maximum loan to incomes. This is the flexibility that longer term lenders can offer and a flexibility that is helping more homeowners onto the property ladder. House prices are high but longer term fixed rates can mean higher maximum loan to incomes, which means more help for more borrowers. The high street is slowly shifting towards longer term fixed rates, which are an increasingly popular proposition in today’s market. This is our primary focus, as we believe it is the future of home finance.
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Kasia Makarewicz
Senior Mortgage Adviser at Step by Step
What a buzz for borrowers. The increase in the LTI ratio for Nationwide's Helping Hand product from 5.5x to 6x will allow first-time buyers to borrow up to 33% more. This is a significant boost for affordability, especially in high-demand areas where property prices often exceed what many buyers can manage with traditional lending caps. Combined with the LTV ratio remaining at 95%, first-time buyers can secure a mortgage with just a 5% deposit, helping more people onto the property ladder sooner. In the long term, this could have a stabilising effect on the UK housing market by increasing buyer accessibility and home ownership. With more first-time buyers able to enter the market, there is potential for increased demand, which may help maintain house price growth at a sustainable pace. This move could also stimulate other areas of the economy, as homebuyers typically invest in home improvements and furnishings, providing a boost to retail, construction and local services.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
As well as decent rate reductions, this is a great bit of policy tweaking for first-time buyers with the first-tIme buyer-friendly Nationwide. It's unusual to see so many product adaptations in the final quarter so lenders are starting to, maybe needing to, diversify themselves to attract more business. Great to see help for the sector that starts the buying chain.
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Riz Malik
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
This is amazing news for first-time buyers and once again Nationwide shows the market it means business and is here to lend. With further rate cuts expected, this is exactly what the market needs. Competition on criteria as well as rate.
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Darryl Dhoffer
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
You have to commend Nationwide for these reductions, and the boosts this will have for first-time buyers. For those hoping for continued rate reductions, we all know that economic dynamics can change on a coin flip, so make hay while the sun shines.
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Dariusz Karpowicz
Director at Albion Financial Advice
This day just keeps getting better for homebuyers! After NatWest and Accord, now Nationwide has joined the party with not only rate reductions but also a big boost to the Loan to Income (LTI) multiple to 6x for first-time buyers. This means potential buyers can borrow up to 33% more, making it easier to get on the property ladder or secure the home they want. With these positive changes across the board, it’s clear the market is moving in the right direction. Let’s hope this momentum continues and we see more lenders following suit. The UK mortgage market is definitely looking up!