Coventry Building Society has recently announced some significant changes to its mortgage offerings, set to take effect on Friday (28th July). The building society will be cutting its entire range of two- and five-year fixed-rate loans for both residential and landlord fixed-rates. In line with its policy of providing brokers with sufficient notice, the current range will be closed at 8pm on Thursday (27th July), giving them two days' notice of the upcoming changes. The new deals will be made available from 8am on Friday.
This move comes in the wake of similar actions by HSBC and Accord earlier this week. Lenders seem to be speculating that the Bank of England may be nearing the end of its series of base rate increases. The current central bank rate stands at 5%, having undergone 13 consecutive increases since December 2021.
Inflation has shown some signs of easing, reaching a sixteen-month low of 7.9% in the year up to June, as reported by the Office for National Statistics. This is down from 8.7% in the previous month of May. Investors are now predicting a peak base rate of 5.75%, a more optimistic outlook compared to earlier forecasts that projected a rate of 6.5% in March.
The specific changes at Coventry Building Society encompass its residential and Buy to Let loan offerings. For residential new business, porting, and product transfers, all two- and five-year fixed rates will be cut. However, to accommodate existing customers doing product transfers, Flexx fixed rates will see an increase.
Regarding Buy to Let loans, Coventry Building Society will be reducing all two- and five-year fixed rates for buy-to-let and portfolio landlord properties. Similar to the residential offerings, they will also increase BTL Flexx fixed rates for existing customers transferring products.
James Halstead, Director at My Financial Pro has expressed his appreciation for lenders like Coventry following the lead of HSBC and Accord by reducing interest rates. He remains hopeful that this trend will continue, potentially leading to more competitive pricing in the near future. With inflation showing signs of stabilisation, mortgage holders and first-time buyers can begin to regain some confidence in the market.
