21
Sep
Post Office cuts mortgage rates - Great news for first time buyers.
The new rates have been lowered by up to 1.24% and include a
range of competitive loans for first-time buyers only requiring a
10% deposit.
On average, the Post Office is cutting mortgage rates by 0.64%
across all fixed and most tracker rates. The largest cut is to its
three-year fixed rate at 90% loan-to-value - from 5.99% to 4.75%.
The 4.99% five-year fixed rate at 90% LTV is now the best on the
market.
The new rates will be available to customers from tomorrow (21
September), offering first-time buyers, movers, and remortgage
customers a wide range of choice and flexibility, with deals from
75% up to 90% LTV.
The Post Office has expanded its range of five-year fixed rate
products, with many of the deals now offering £300 cashback,
no arrangement or booking fees and can include free standard legal
work and a standard valuation.
It has also withdrawn its range of buy-to-let mortgages for the
short to medium term, enabling it to focus efforts on helping first
time buyers, movers and remortgage customers to get a competitive
mortgage.
It now has five mortgages classed as Best Buys, including a
two-year fixed rate (fee assisted) at 3,85% (85% LTV) and a
three-year fixed rate (fee assisted) at 3.98% (85% LTV).
Mike Cook, head of mortgages at the Post Office, said:
“Many of the five year fixes that are heavily advertised are
only for borrowers with a large 25% to 40% deposit, which excludes
many first-time buyers or those moving up the property ladder. If
you only have a 10% deposit, our 4.99% five-year fixed rate offers
excellent value, and protects borrowers from any potential bank
base rate rises during the fixed rate period.
The announcement of these new rates comes at a time when
mortgage lending looks to be getting stronger, with figures out
today from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showing gross lending to
be up by 10% on last year’s figures. The amount of mortgage
lending in August was estimated to be £13.4 billion, a 6% rise
from £12.6 billion in July.
Bob Pannell, chief economist at CML, said: “Much of the
recent variation in monthly lending figures appears to have
reflected seasonal factors, with the underlying picture being one
of activity levels that continue to be subdued but broadly
stable.
“The August performance more or less offset the weaker
than expected July figure. Taking July and August together, lending
has shown little change on the same months of 2009 and
2010.”