Rightmove: Mortgage pricing will go lower despite interest rate rises

Mortgage pricing has dropped despite last week’s interest rate rise, Rightmove claims.

In a boost for homebuyers, analysis by the portal suggests there have been reductions of up to 0.05% in average rates compared with this time last week.

It comes despite the Bank of England raising the base rate from 4% to 4.25% last Thursday.

The increase may mean higher costs for those on tracker mortgages but lenders seem to be resisting equivalent increases on their fixed rates when it comes to new customers.

Rightmove’s mortgage expert Matt Smith said: “Mortgage lenders had already factored in a Bank rate rise in March. 

“The fact that it was lower than the previous rise in February, along with the longer-term indication that inflation is still likely to fall sharply over the year, is giving lenders more confidence to start to edge down their rates. 

“We’ve seen reductions of up to 0.05% in average mortgage rates compared to this time last week, as lenders begin to respond to the Bank of England’s decision. 

“Prices have reduced across all loan-to-value ranges, for both two and five year fixed deals. 

“A number of lenders have been quick out of the blocks to change their prices, but with more likely to follow suit in the coming days, we should expect to see further reductions in the coming week.”