Nationwide Building Society has announced reductions of up to 0.45% across its fixed and tracker mortgage range, effective from Friday, 24th March.
The cuts apply to products for first-time buyers, remortgagers, and those moving home.
Rate reductions for remortgage customers apply to 2-, 3-, and 5-year fixed and 2-year tracker rate products up to 90% loan-to-value (LTV).
The Society is also cutting rates on selected switcher products by up to 0.25%, with rates starting from 3.94%.
First-time buyers will see rate reductions of up to 0.35% across selected 2-, 3-, and 5-year fixed and 2-year tracker products up to 95% LTV. Nationwide’s first-time buyer mortgages also include £500 cashback.
New customers moving home can benefit from reductions of up to 0.35% on selected fixed and tracker rate products up to 90% LTV.
Existing members moving home will also see rate reductions on similar products. Shared equity rates up to 80% LTV will be reduced by up to 0.30%.
Nationwide is additionally reducing rates on selected fixed and tracker products in its additional borrowing range by up to 0.25%, with the Green Additional Borrowing rate reduced by 0.10% to 3.94%.
Henry Jordan, director of home at Nationwide Building Society, said: “We regularly review our mortgage rates and these latest cuts are being made across both our fixed and tracker products, meaning all types of borrowers could benefit, whether they are buying their first home, moving to their next or looking to remortgage.”
Reaction
Matthew Jackson, director at Mint FS:
“This is very big news. In the mortgage world, whatever Nationwide does, other lenders will follow. So despite the Bank of England increasing the base rate today, this move by the Nationwide will kick off a raft of rate reductions as lenders compete to secure business towards their 2023 lending targets. This is great news for consumers.”
Katy Eatenton, mortgage & protection specialist at Lifetime Wealth Management:
“This is fantastic news to receive after Thursday’s base rate rise. It shows lenders are still actively trying to lend and will promote confidence in the mortgage market. A big win for borrowers.”
Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages:
“The re-pricing of the Nationwide rates was probably set before the inflation and rate increases both in the UK and US, so there will likely be some swift repricing in the next few days, which is a real shame. We have already had a few undecided clients make their choice of new deals since this lunchtime, and I suspect there will be a clammer for these rates as brokers move to advise clients accordingly. Now is definitely the time to engage with an independent mortgage broker, and seek their qualified help.”
Craig Fish, director at Lodestone Mortgages & Protection:
“These reductions are great news, and in some cases are going to outweigh the increase that we saw on Thursday. This is a real statement and, hopefully, more lenders will follow. They could have issued these rates before the Bank of England decision but waited until afterwards to increase the impact. Well done Nationwide.”
Riz Malik, director at R3 Mortgages:
“Given the increase in the base rate on Thursday, this is very reassuring and shows that lenders are still willing to lend. I doubt Nationwide will be the only one repricing downwards and other lenders may follow in the coming days.
Gary Boakes, director at Verve Financial:
“Nationwide receives its funding weekly unlike most banks that are monthly, so they are able to react quickly when swap rates drop. So if Nationwide are dropping rates it is usually a good sign that other lenders will soon follow over the next few weeks. It is also so positive and bold that they did this on the day the base rate rose again. It was them coming out with a big statement for borrowers, saying look it is not all doom and gloom that the base rate increased.”
Luke Thompson, director at PAB Wealth Management:
“For several months now the Bank of England base rate hasn’t correlated with the interest rate that mortgage lenders are charging and this seems to be a continuation of this. We have had multiple emails this week from lenders advising that they are reducing their rates. It looks like there is a continuing price war between lenders as they continue to jostle for the reduced amounts of mortgage business that are currently available. The all-important market in relation to lender interest rates at the minute is the swap market and currently, rates are lower than they were at the start of this month, which enables lenders to reduce the cost of mortgage borrowing should they wish to.”
Graham Cox, director at SelfEmployedMortgageHub.com:
“This is excellent news and may indicate that mortgage rates won’t rise in response to today’s base rate hike. Certainly, competition amongst lenders is intense at the moment, as they slug it out for market share in the face of sluggish consumer demand.”
Rohit Kohli, operations director at The Mortgage Stop:
“This is an interesting move by the Nationwide. It’s a great positive message given the rate increase from the Bank of England on Thursday but I worry that this could lead to rapid rate changes as the effects of the 0.25% increase feed through into the markets over the next 24 to 48 hours. Overall this is a positive sign and other lenders tend to follow Nationwide so fingers crossed for more cuts to rates.”
Natalie Hines, founder at Premier One Mortgages:
“I don’t think anyone can predict what lenders will do from week to week at the moment. Nevertheless, this is great news from the Nationwide. Let’s hope they had factored in today’s base rate rise and these rate reductions continue.”
Amit Patel, adviser at Trinity Finance:
“This a bold move from Nationwide and it’s the first lender out of the blocks to announce rate reductions, which is positive news for borrowers despite the announcement from the Bank of England to increase the base rate to 4.25% at lunchtime Thursday. Hopefully, other lenders will take a leaf out of Nationwide’s book and reprice themselves.”
Gareth Davies, director at South Coast Mortgage Services:
“This is excellent and, let’s face it, incredibly timely news from Nationwide. Announcing these significant reductions within three hours of the base rate increase is a smart move. It is not all doom and gloom out there.”
