Across its purchase range, cuts include the two-year fix at 60% loan to value (LTV), which has been reduced by 0.04% to 3.97% with no fee, while it has been cut by 0.09% to 3.67% with a £995 fee. The equivalent product with a £1,495 fee has been reduced by 0.09% to 3.62%.
Reductions have also been made for buyers with smaller deposits, as the 90% LTV option with no fee has been cut by 0.09% to 4.35% and the option with a £995 fee by 0.03% to 4.2%. At 95% LTV, the two-year fix with no fee has been reduced by 0.06% to 4.74%.
Further, rate reductions have been made to five-year fixed purchase options from 60% LTV to 95% LTV. This includes the option at 60% LTV with a £1,495 fee, which has fallen from 3.83% to 3.75%, and the option with a £995 fee, which has been cut by a similar amount to 3.8%.
For the fee-free product, there has been a 0.09% reduction to 3.91%.
NatWest has also reduced rates for remortgage borrowers, first-time buyers, shared equity, green, buy-to-let (BTL) and green BTL deals.
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Across its further advances, two- and five-year fixed rates have been reduced up to 90% LTV.
Changes include the two-year fix at 60% LTV with no fee, which is 0.06% lower at 4.04%, and the £995 fee-paying option, which has been cut by 0.08% to 3.71%.
The equivalent five-year fixes have both been lowered by 0.05% to 3.98% and 3.83% respectively.
Barclays lowers remortgage and existing borrower rates
Barclays has reduced rates across products for remortgage and existing customer reward deals to bring selected pricing even further below 4%.
For remortgage-only products, the two-year fix at 60% LTV with a £999 fee has been cut by 0.1% to 3.71%, while at 75% LTV, the corresponding product has been reduced by the same amount to 3.92%.
Its Great Escape and Premier rates have also been lowered, including five-year fixed rates.
For existing borrowers, selected two- and five-year fixed reward products between 60% and 75% LTV have been lowered, including options with no fee, a £999 fee or a £1,999 fee.
First signs of a price war
Nick Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, said the recent rate movements pointed to increased competition among lenders.
He said: “Santander’s move to 3.51% has very clearly set the pace, and at the moment, it is the standout cheapest option for borrowers taking £500,000 or more, once fees are factored in. Nationwide’s 3.58% sits just behind it, which shows how tight the spread has become at the top end of the market. This is textbook competitive positioning from the big lenders, and it signals a deliberate push to capture low-risk, high-equity borrowers before activity ramps up in the new year.
“We’re now seeing the first signs of a full-scale price war. NatWest and Barclays have both given notice of further reductions landing tomorrow, and the speed at which these updates are coming through tells you lenders want to be front of mind ahead of the next Bank of England decision. With swaps holding steady and market pricing pointing towards cheaper funding conditions, the high street is clearly preparing for stronger demand in early 2026.”
Mendes added: “For borrowers, it is a good moment to secure a deal rather than assume this pace of cuts will continue uninterrupted. If we do not see a bank rate reduction next week, or if the voting behaviour on the Monetary Policy Committee shifts in a more hawkish direction, markets will quickly readjust their expectations. That would feed straight back into swaps and could slow or even stall the reductions we are currently seeing. Acting now gives you the benefit of today’s pricing without relying on sentiment staying this favourable.”
