Keystone has cut its mortgage rates, with prices on the lender’s standard fixed rate products now starting from 4.14 per cent.
The expat range has seen the most significant reductions of up to 0.65 per cent and now starts from 5.49 per cent.
Keystone’s standard and specialist deals for houses in multiple occupation (HMO) and multi-unit freehold blocks (MUFBs) for up to 15 occupants or units have seen rate cuts of up to 0.55 per cent.
Elise Coole (pictured), managing director, at Keystone Property Finance, said: “In the past month, swap rates have come down significantly, which has allowed us to make sizeable reductions across our range.
“Nobody can know how market conditions will evolve in the coming year, but we’ll continue to pass on any rate reductions as a result of our funding structures as soon as we are able to do so.”
Fee changes
Keystone has removed its 5.5 per cent and seven per cent arrangement fee options across its five-year fixes. The fees were introduced for landlords to maximise affordability when rates were higher, but Keystone said the recent reductions in mortgage pricing meant this was no longer needed.
Coole said: “For a while last year, these products were a useful tool in brokers’ armoury because they allowed landlords to achieve higher levels of leverage in a higher mortgage rate environment.
“But now that mortgage rates have fallen significantly over the past few months, they have served their purpose and I feel that currently they are no longer a vital part of our offering.”
It has also launched a three per cent fee arrangement to its product transfers with rates starting from 4.89 per cent.
MPowered lowers mortgage rates
MPowered Mortgages has cut rates across its two and five-year fixes by up to 0.25 per cent, and purchase rates now begin from 4.13 per cent.
The lender has also introduced cashback on all products for home buyers.
Matt Surridge, sales director at MPowered Mortgages, said: “We are really pleased to be able to bring out new lower rates so early in 2024 and pass on the reduction in swap costs so quickly to our customers. We appreciate that it is a very tough market out there, and that is why we are delighted to be able to extend our cashback to our entire range to help with moving and remortgaging costs.
“We have listened to what our borrowers want, and whilst headline rates are very important, many of our customers also asked for upfront assistance. A £500 or £1,000 cashback helps with immediate costs, and on a two-year fixed rate for a loan of £200,000, £500 is the equivalent of an additional 10+ bps of rate reduction.”
