Homebuyers and homeowners looking to remortgage benefited from another round of mortgage rate reductions last week, as major UK lenders continued to sharpen their offerings shortly after earlier cuts.
Banks including Barclays plc (LSE:BARC), HSBC UK (LSE:HSBA), Santander UK (LSE:BNC), Skipton Building Society (LSE:SG52) and Virgin Money UK (LSE:91XR) all revised their mortgage deals, underscoring intensifying competition across the market.
Data from Moneyfacts showed that the average two-year fixed homeowner mortgage rate stood at 5.83% on the morning of April 22, down from 5.87% the previous day.
Santander implemented its second round of cuts this month, lowering rates by up to 0.25 percentage points from April 24, with the changes affecting first-time buyers, home movers and remortgaging customers.
HSBC UK also updated its mortgage range after reducing rates the week before, introducing further cuts across products aimed at both new buyers and those refinancing.
Meanwhile, Barclays and Skipton Building Society had already trimmed their rates earlier in the week, while Virgin Money applied reductions across both residential and buy-to-let mortgage products.
What’s driving the changes?
Mortgage pricing, which is closely linked to swap rates, has started to ease, allowing lenders to pass on some savings to borrowers.
However, ongoing global uncertainty—including geopolitical tensions in the Middle East—has continued to create market volatility and sustain expectations of relatively high interest rates, limiting the scope for more significant declines.
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