Swap rates have eased in recent weeks, prompting more lenders to trim rates
Barclays is reducing rates across more than 20 residential mortgage products from tomorrow, 22 April, cutting some deals by as much as 36 basis points (bps).
In the purchase range, the lender’s two-year fixed rate at 60% loan-to-value (LTV) will fall by 35bps to 4.60% with an £899 fee. The equivalent fee-free product will reduce by 36bps to 4.79%.
At 75% LTV, Barclays’ Premier two-year fix will be 4.73% with an £899 fee. The standard two-year fix at the same LTV will be 4.74%, while the fee-free option will be 4.93%. At 80% LTV, two-year fixed rates will start at 4.75% with an £899 fee, or 4.98% without a fee.
Five-year fixed rates are also being lowered, with reductions of up to 24bps. The revised five-year pricing starts from 4.76% at 60% LTV, 4.82% at 75% LTV, and 4.96% at 80% LTV.
The high street lender’s Green Home products are included in the move, with cuts of up to 36bps. Two-year Green Home fixed rates will start from 4.69%, while five-year options will begin at 4.66%.
In its remortgage-only range, Barclays is cutting two-year fixed rates by up to 23bps. Pricing will start from 4.83% at 60% LTV, 4.90% at 75% LTV, and 5.11% at 80% LTV, each carrying a £999 fee. The fee-free Great Escape remortgage range will also be reduced, including cuts of up to 25bps across its two-year fixes.
“Barclays has jumped to the top of the best buy tables again by lowering its two-year fix from 4.95% to 4.60% undercutting many of its competitors,” said Aaron Strutt (pictured right), product director at Trinity Financial.
“Thankfully, more of Barclays rates will start with a four rather than a five because of these changes. The Barclays rates were starting to look a bit expensive so it’s good to see them come back down again.”
Most major lenders have repriced repeatedly since early March as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East fed through to wholesale funding costs, lifting swap rates and gilt yields and forcing lenders to protect margins. Barclays was among those to move, with its last rate hike announced earlier this month, raising rates by as much as 40bps on parts of its existing-customer residential range.
Over the past fortnight, the tone has eased. After a two-week US–Iran ceasefire was announced on 8 April, markets retraced some of the earlier moves, with lower oil prices and a fall in the two-year gilt yield cited as drivers of calmer rate expectations.
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