Why mortgage rates are surging again

Barely a day after the Building Societies Association (BSA) warned that becoming a first-time buyer was “possibly the most expensive it has been over the last 70 years”, a string of major lenders made it even pricier.

Barclays raised rates across a range of mortgage products by 0.1 per cent, the second increase in a week. NatWest said it would hike some of its two and five-year “switcher” deals for existing customers by the same amount. Certain two, three and five-year fixed rates will be increased by up to 0.41 per cent at the Co-op Bank. HSBC also joined the grim parade.

This has become part of a trend. James Hyde, spokesperson at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, told me that the average two-year fixed mortgage rate currently sits at 5.83 per cent, which is the highest it has been since early January, when there were signs that borrowing rates were coming down.