Rate cuts, higher LTV thresholds, and expanded criteria signal increased competition
Several lenders have announced changes to their mortgage offerings, including rate reductions, increased loan-to-value (LTV) thresholds, and enhanced lending criteria aimed at providing more options to brokers and their clients.
Coventry for intermediaries has reduced selected fixed rates by up to 25 basis points (bps) for residential mortgages and up to 20bps for buy-to-let products. Updated rates include a two-year fixed rate of 3.89% at 65% LTV with a £999 fee for residential purchase, and a five-year fixed rate of 4.45% at 75% LTV with a £1,999 fee for buy-to-let remortgage, with access to its Remortgage Transfer Service.
“Swap rates have fallen which has created room for more movement on mortgage pricing,” said Jonathan Stinton (pictured far left), head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society. “We’ve reduced rates across our residential and buy to let ranges, with some of the biggest cuts going to two-year fixes – reflecting growing demand for shorter-term flexibility in an uncertain market.”
Meanwhile, Paragon Bank has introduced two new buy-to-let mortgage products at up to 80% LTV for single self-contained (SSC) properties with energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings of ‘A’ to ‘C’. The two- and five-year fixed options are both priced at 6.14%, with no product fee and a £299 application fee. In addition, Paragon has cut rates by 10bps on all 70% and 75% LTV SSC products and removed application fees from 75% LTV options carrying a 3% product fee.
“Recent UK Finance figures revealed significant growth in buy-to-let purchase and remortgage lending,” noted Russell Anderson (pictured second from left), commercial director of mortgages at Paragon Bank. “This suggests that landlords are feeling more confident and actively expanding their portfolios, perhaps targeting higher-yielding stock, or improving the properties they already own.
“Expanding our range with buy-to-let mortgages available on SSCs at up to 80% LTV supports this, providing landlords who want to borrow more with additional options.”
Another lender, United Trust Bank (UTB), has cut rates by up to 20bps across its full residential mortgage product range and raised its maximum loan-to-income (LTI) ratio to six times income for applications up to £1 million and under 85% LTV.
“This combination of even lower, more competitive rates and the higher maximum LTI allows us to do more to support brokers and their customers,” said Buster Tolfree (pictured second from right), director of mortgages at United Trust Bank. “This move will be welcomed by brokers trying to place specialist cases at the upper end of LTIs and affordability and can be applied to larger loans too.”
Specialist lender MT Finance has increased the maximum LTV on its automated valuation model (AVM) from 60% to 65% on eligible transactions for both regulated and unregulated bridging finance.
“We’re pleased to announce this increase to our maximum LTV on AVM valuations,” said Gareth Lewis (pictured far right), managing director at MT Finance. “This enhancement reflects our ongoing efforts to streamline the application process and provide our broker partners with more competitive and accessible financing solutions for their clients. By increasing the LTV to 65%, we’re giving our clients greater borrowing capacity to support them in achieving their property goals efficiently.”
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