“Global pressures caused by the conflict in the Middle East completely overturned the expected path of inflation and future rate setting, causing lenders to pull deals and hike fixed rates. Thankfully, the calm of product churn during April resulted in the average shelf-life of a deal returning to a more realistic window, doubling from almost a week to just two weeks (from eight days to 16 days) compared to the turmoil in March.
“First-time buyers or those with as little as 5% equity, hoping to secure a two or five-year fixed deal, will see average fixed rates remain above 6%. It is essential that new buyers in particular feel supported, to keep the market going, but affordability tensions are evident. Higher interest rates, a shortage of affordable housing and the potential for rising costs of living could all harm the mortgage market. Support from lenders is needed to keep the market going and Innovation will be important. The pressure of higher repayments will force borrowers to consider a longer term deal, such as for 35 years or 40 years, however, this means paying more interest overall, so it is wise to reduce the loan and mortgage term where possible.
“It makes sense to see why affordability for borrowers is rising, with incomes not rising enough to get a mortgage and those stuck in the rental cycle struggling to build up a big deposit. In recent years, the proportion of borrowers taking out mortgages with high debt-to-income ratios (LTIs) has increased.
“Official data from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on gross advances by income multiples during Q4 2025 showed that the proportion lending to a single borrower at four times income (4x LTI) has reached its highest level since Q2 2021. As may be clear, it may be more challenging to secure a mortgage for people going solo, meaning any relaxations in loan-to-income rules, such as building societies such as Nationwide A Helping Hand With a mortgage at six times the income can make all the difference, it is wise to seek advice from a broker to keep up to date with the latest deals and receive invaluable advice on affordability constraints.
| mortgage market analysis | ||||||
| May-24 | May-25 | November-25 | April-26 | May-26 | ||
| Fixed and Variable Rate Products | Total Product Number – All LTV | 6,565 | 6,993 | 6,918 | 6,201 | 6,784 |
| Product Number – 95% LTV | 347 | 462 | 465 | 368 | 436 | |
| Product Number – 90% LTV | 791 | 876 | 897 | 759 | 871 | |
| Product Number – 60% LTV | 748 | 786 | 787 | 739 | 791 | |
| all products | Shelf-life (days) | 28 | 19 | 21 | 8 | 16 |
| all ltv | average two year fixed rate | 5.91% | 5.18% | 4.94% | 5.84% | 5.78% |
| average five-year fixed rate | 5.48% | 5.10% | 5.01% | 5.75% | 5.68% | |
| 95% LTV | average two year fixed rate | 6.14% | 5.63% | 5.41% | 6.40% | 6.33% |
| average five-year fixed rate | 5.64% | 5.58% | 5.41% | 6.18% | 6.06% | |
| 90% LTV | average two year fixed rate | 6.12% | 5.42% | 5.24% | 6.12% | 6.05% |
| average five-year fixed rate | 5.57% | 5.24% | 5.16% | 5.98% | 5.87% | |
| 60% LTV | average two year fixed rate | 5.45% | 4.65% | 4.43% | 5.39% | 5.28% |
| average five-year fixed rate | 5.08% | 4.58% | 4.67% | 5.43% | 5.35% | |
| all ltv | Standard Variable Rate (SVR) | 8.18% | 7.58% | 7.27% | 7.13% | 7.13% |
| all ltv | Average Two-Year Tracker Rate | 6.12% | 5.16% | 4.66% | 4.69% | 4.61% |
| Data shown is as of the first available day of the month, unless otherwise stated. | ||||||
| Source: MoneyFacts Treasury Report | ||||||
| Moneyfacts average mortgage rate | |||||
| May-24 | May-25 | November-25 | April-26 | May-26 | |
| moneyfacts average
mortgage rate |
5.75% | 5.17% | 4.99% | 5.72% | 5.66% |
| Calculated by summing all on-sale, core market, fixed and variable tracker mortgages. Standard exclusions apply: self-build only, shared ownership only, new build only, shared equity only, standard variable rates and adverse credit | |||||
| Source: MoneyFacts Average mortgage rates. | |||||