Mortgages

Rates on two-year fixed mortgage deals have dipped below 5% for the first time in five months. But brokers believe fixed deals could get even cheaper as the year draws to a close – so should you fix now or hold out?

Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert.com’s (MSE's) founder and chair, is today strengthening his call for the Chancellor to overhaul the Lifetime ISA (LISA) in his 22 November Autumn Statement. Young savers should not be essentially fined – and lose their hard-saved cash – when they purchase homes above the scheme's £450,000 limit. This is a problem that leaves far more at risk now than when LISAs launched in 2017.

Interest rates on fixed mortgage deals have been edging down over the past few weeks with some five and 10-year fixes now below 5%. Mortgage brokers have told MoneySavingExpert.com that further cuts are possible in the short term after the base rate was held at 5.25% this month, following 14 consecutive rises.

The Bank of England has increased the base rate from 5% to 5.25% – its highest level in over 15 years. This rate is used by the central bank to charge other banks and lenders when they borrow money – and so it influences what borrowers pay and what savers earn.

Fixing your mortgage rate for 10 years is now significantly cheaper than two and five-year deals – even the UK's only 25-year fix has a lower rate than the top two-year fix. But there are risks to locking in your mortgage for 10 years or longer. Here's what you need to know.

In an urgent private meeting on mortgages with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, and in a separate conversation with Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has today (Wednesday 21 June) stressed the need for proper forbearance measures for struggling mortgage holders, and the need for banks not to ramp up their profit margins.

Interest rates on fixed mortgage deals have stopped coming down and are instead now rising again. Lenders have also begun axing their fixed mortgage deals this week – these will likely return at more expensive rates. So should you fix? 

Homebuyers can now use regular Netflix, Spotify and council tax payments to increase their chances of getting accepted for a Leeds Building Society mortgage. The lender has become the first in the UK to start using payment data recorded on Experian Boost when considering home loan applications.

Renters struggling to save for a deposit can now get a 100% mortgage from Skipton Building Society. It's the first no-deposit deal – that doesn't require a guarantor's backing – to launch in the UK since 2008, and MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis says it could be a "sensible" option for some. We explain who can get it, how it works and the risks you need to watch out for below.

Homeowners paying over 8% interest on mortgages they can't switch away from say "relentless" rate rises over the past year have destroyed their mental health and left them living as "hermits". Some have seen up to nine hikes in a single year – but unlike other homeowners, these mortgage prisoners can't move to cheaper rates.