Blow to homeowners as mortgage rates remain ‘worlds away’ from historic lows

As it stands, the Bank of England has raised the nation’s base rate to 5.25 percent and it has remained at this level for a couple of months.

Following the impact of former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ mini-Budget, rates were pushed to a much higher level than ever before.

The average two-year mortgage rate reached a peak of 6.65 percent on October 20, according to Moneyfacts.

In recent months, mortgage rates have dropped since then but damage to the market has already been evident.

Sarah Coles, the head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, noted the significant drop in mortgage approvals as a result of the turmoil.

She explained: “It was all change again at that point when inflation was proving surprisingly sticky, so lenders started to price in more rises again.

“Moneyfacts data shows that the average two-year fixed rate mortgage rose from 5.35 percent at the beginning of April to a recent peak of 6.85 percent at the start of August.

“As a result, Bank of England figures show a big drop in mortgage approvals. As buyers hurried out of the market, prices fell.”

The finance expert highlighted the recent drop in mortgage rates but emphasised that homeowners are still “worlds away” from record rates.

Ms Coles added: “Mortgage rates have dropped gradually since, with the average five-year rate falling below six percent, and the average two-year rate threatening to do so.

“However, we’re still worlds away from where rates were before all this kicked off, and there’s no expectation for us to get back there again in a hurry.”