According to financial information firm Moneyfacts, between March 2009 and today the average mortgage fee rose from £1,181 to £1,302, an increase of £321.
There was also a slight rise in the average two-year tracker fee. There were dramatic variations in fees depending on product. Several variable rate mortgage products distributed by Pink Home Loans, Precise Mortgages and PMS charged arrangement fees of £2,995.
In many cases, there were also high completion fees. PMS charged completion fees of up to £3,800 while some Halifax products include a £245 completion fee on top of the initial £1,495 arrangement fee.
However, a spokesman for Nationwide said that fees on the mortgages they offered had in general not risen: “I think overall we believe our product fees are lower than they were three years ago.”
Ian Gray, mortgage manager at Largemortgageloans.com added: “The analysis reflects a wide variety of fees, some large and some based on a percentage of the loan. The average is skewed by percentage fees.”
Gray said that a good way to get deals is to open a bank account with the lender.
“What I have been seeing very recently is that people are getting much lower fees if they get a bank account with the lender.”
Other lenders, NatWest and Northern Rock also said that typical arrangement fees have remained below the £1,000 mark.
Moneyfacts also found an 80% rise in the number of residential mortgages, from 1,452 in 2009 to 2,612 today.
The number of 90% LTV mortgages more than tripled while the number of 85% LTV mortgages was two and a half times what it had been in 2009.
Fees: the worst offenders
1. PMS – completion rates of up to £3,800
2. Pink Home Loans – arrangement fees of up to £2,995
3. Precise Mortgages – arrangement fees up to £1,995
4. Halifax – arrangement fees of £1495 plus completion fees of £245
5. Lloyds TSB Scotland – arrangement fees £1495 plus booking £99
Figures based on variable rate mortgage data compiled by Moneyfacts
