Accord, the intermediary-only arm of Yorkshire Building Society, has announced that it will be implementing a number of changes to its residential new business rates.
The changes will affect selected fixed-rate products at different loan-to-value (LTV) ratios.
House purchase products with a fee of £1,495 at 60%, 75%, and 85% LTV will also be affected, with increases of 0.05%.
At 85% LTV, selected fixed-rate products will be increased by up to 0.33%, while at 90% LTV, selected fixed-rate products will be increased by up to 0.40%. For selected fixed-rate products at 95% LTV, there will be an increase of up to 0.37%.
The changes come as the lender continues to adjust its rates in response to the current economic climate.
The current range of rates will be withdrawn at 8 pm on 9th March and the new range will be available from 8 am on 10th March.
Reaction
Gary Boakes, director at Verve Financial:
“With swap rates increasing and the likelihood of another base rate rise this month, this is going to be a common trend with lenders in the coming weeks.
“Accord following closely on the heels of HSBC and Platform rising their rates. Lenders are still being very competitive, though, and with lenders still offering sub-4% rates at certain LTVs it is not all doom and gloom even with talk of rate rises.”
Jamie Lennox, director at Dimora Mortgages:
“With swap rates all being up circa 0.5% compared to a month ago, it has come as no surprise some lenders are having to reprice their mortgages accordingly as the cost to them to get fixed rate money in has increased and they will still need to maintain a profit margin.
“Whether this is a future trend of increases to come or a correction from lenders being over-optimistic, I’m not quiet sure yet. A lot is going to hinge on the next base rate meeting and the commentary that accompanies it in the minutes.”
Lewis Shaw, owner and mortgage broker at Riverside Mortgages:
“We’ve been warning about the possibility of further rate rises for the past six weeks. Accord is one of several lenders that have started the slow, inexorable march upwards again.
“This is predicated on rising gilt yields, which feed into SONIA swaps and then show up in higher fixed-rate mortgage pricing. Sadly, due to the inflationary pressures in the US economy and the Fed poised to hike rates higher and keep them there for longer, markets are already pricing in the impact of a stronger Dollar.
“The Bank of England will follow suit due to the risk of worsening our own inflationary problems, especially when the minimum wage is rising by over 9% in April and energy bills are set to increase once more. This won’t be the last lender to increase rates, so speaking to a broker who knows their onions is essential.”
