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Saffron raises rates by up to 0.5%: where are mortgage rates headed next?

ended 15. November 2024

Saffron for Intermediaries is the latest lender to price upwards, announcing fixed rate increases of up to 0.5%. Are we seeing a fundamental repricing of mortgages in the aftermath of the Autumn Budget and where are mortgage rates headed next? How are borrowers reacting and is this impacting demand for property on the ground?

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Justin MoyVerified
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
Saffron by their admission is not a mainstream lender so it will not be impacted as much by the Swap rate increases, with many of their products priced for risk and specific situations, rather than tight margins for bulk volumes. But the wider picture of mortgage lenders having to re-price everything by around 10% more over the last few weeks just makes finance and the property market deflated once more, at a time when the country now ranks bottom of the G7 on GDP growth. Whether High Street lenders or specialist providers, the cost of money is the overriding influence on their activity, and there is little on the horizon to make anyone feel confident.
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Elliott CulleyVerified
Director at Switch Mortgage Finance
Mortgage lenders do not like uncertainty in the market and the recent increase in SWAP rates change how lenders price their products. Even though the SWAP rates havent moved dramtically over the last week, we are now seeing the result of the increases earlier in the month start to filter through. In times when there is uncertainty, there are certain trends we have grown accustomed to seeing from mortgage lenders, the main one being no one wants to be the chepest lender on the market for too long, so its common to see lenders moving out fo first place, whcih is the complete opposite to when the economic outlook is far more positive.
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Iain SwattonVerified
Director at Exemplar Financial Services
Saffron Building Society joins the growing list of lenders raising mortgage rates, this time by 0.5%. This relentless upward trend shows no signs of slowing. The fallout from the Budget will linger for some time, compounding pressures on borrowers. Demand is already faltering, as seen in recent GDP figures, and the economic outlook remains bleak. With no clear catalyst for the promised growth on the horizon, borrowers and buyers face an increasingly challenging landscape.