According to the Moneyfacts UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report, this was still better than the record-low eight-day shelf life seen earlier this year, just after the US-Iran conflict began.
So far this year, the average mortgage product shelf life has fallen to 15 days on average, down from 43 days in 2019.
Moneyfacts said that while the Covid-19 pandemic and mini Budget disrupted the market in 2020 and 2022 for short periods, the year’s market instability had been prolonged, making the current situation different from previous periods of volatility.
Moneyfacts said this left borrowers with “little room for error”.
Adam French, head of consumer finance at Moneyfacts, said: “Brokers and borrowers are navigating the most challenging mortgage market in modern records. Not only have rates been jumping up and down, but the deals available today may not be here tomorrow either.”
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French said borrowers have a “much tighter window” to find a competitive deal, as the conflict in the Middle East continued to cause uncertainty.
“Each rumour of reconciliation or sudden escalation has influenced swap rates, which in turn influence the cost of funding fixed-rate mortgages. Lenders have little choice but to reprice their deals or withdraw them altogether when those costs change.
“Brokers have been working hard to help borrowers navigate this fast-moving market, but it is a tough time for consumers to make confident decisions,” he added.
French added that any borrower who found a competitive deal may find it was withdrawn before they were ready to proceed, then return to the market at a different rate.
He said the global uncertainty was making it hard for borrowers to act with confidence, and it had now become “more of a case of luck than judgement”.
