With these figures recorded just as the US and Israel joined forces against Iran, it’s likely that the drop in mortgage shelf-life was fuelled by lenders withdrawing products in response to previous expectations for the Bank of England to lower the UK’s central interest rate (‘base rate’).
While a base rate cut later this week now seems off the cards, it could be that shelf-life continues to tumble as lenders react to ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the impact it’s having on economic forecasts. The past week alone has seen more than 600 mortgage products pulled from sale as lenders reconsider their pricing – the largest amount since the aftermath of the September 2022 mini-Budget and roughly equivalent to 10% of the overall market.
Delaying could prove costly
Despite the recent turmoil, Springall said remortgage borrowers shouldn’t delay refinancing “as they can still save a significant sum by moving off a Standard Variable Rate (SVR)”.
Although average fixed mortgage rates have returned above 5%, those who opt for a typical two-year deal (priced at 5.20% this morning) could still save almost £300 a month on their repayments compared to falling onto an average SVR (charging 7.13% at the start of March)*.