HSBC and TSB buck the trend of mortgage rate rises

Lenders have largely bumped mortgage rates up in the last year, but in the last few weeks, many major providers have gone against the grain.

Between the start of March and the beginning of April, the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate increased from 5.76% to 5.8%. Since then, the rate has crept up even further to 5.81%.

The average five-year fixed rate rose from 5.34% to 5.39% too, as did the number of deals on offer – shooting up from 5,146 mortgage products to 6,307.

Meanwhile, prices in the last year have risen too. At the same point in 2023, the average 60% loan-to-value (LTV) two-year fixed rate was 4.5%. A five-year deal at the same tier in 2023 stood at 4.17%.

This rate trajectory follows over six months of price battles – dubbed by YourMoney.com as the ‘mortgage wars’ – coming to an end.

However, while price rises have been prominent in the last 12 months, TSB, HSBC and Suffolk Building Society have all lowered rates for borrowers this week. We assess which providers are dropping rates and which are hiking them.

TSB falls to 4.29% on five-year fixes

We start with TSB, which dropped rates today (12 April) across its mortgage range. A five-year fix is now priced at 4.29% at 60% LTV with a £995 fee included, which shoots up to 5.29% with no fees on the 95% LTV deal.

The lender also sliced its two-year fixed remortgage rates at 75-80% LTV to 5.34% with a £995 fee and 5.74% without.

Five-year fixed remortgage rates begin at 4.39% up to 60% LTV with a £995 fee, while that rate creeps up to 4.5% as a fee-free option.

HSBC makes modest reductions

HSBC is the other major lender to reduce rates, cutting product prices by up to 0.11% across all of its mortgage products.

A five-year fix with a £999 fee at 60% LTV dipped by 0.04% to stand at 4.24%, while its three-year fixed rate at 60% LTV with the same fee was clipped by 0.06% to 4.5%.

If you opt for an HSBC deal after having a different provider before, its switcher residential range, at a fixed rate for two years to finance 60% of your property, is 4.84% – a drop of 0.07%.

Continuing the theme of rate cuts, Suffolk Building Society lowered the price of its three-year fix at 90% LTV to cost 4.99%. For holiday lets, a two-year fix with the provider is priced at 5.8% – a hefty reduction of 0.29%, with a five-year rate standing at 5.69%.

Clydesdale sole lender to up rates

However, Clydesdale has once again upped its rates after doing so last month. This week, it was time for its exclusive residential remortgage and professional deals to feel a boost of price.

For professional products, selected two- and five-year fixed rate deals have slid upwards by 0.06%. Some selected two- and five-year fixed rates will rise by a slightly smaller 0.05% amount.

Rates in this round-up can be found on our partner site Mortgage Solutions.