Rightmove commentary on mortgage market and reaction to inflation news

Following the news that UK inflation has fallen to 2.6%, industry experts and professionals have been sharing their views on the news.

Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert says: “A lower than expected inflation figure today is good news for the wider economy, and it will keep the Bank of England’s plans to cut the Bank Rate in May on track.

“After another tumultuous week for the global economy, this week has been a little more steady so far. We’ve seen more major lenders announce lowest, or ‘best buy’ rates, with some eye-catching sub-4% rates for those with the largest deposits. However, average rates for the mass-market of home-movers have stayed relatively flat. 

“Pricing changes can be painful for lenders, as they can quickly erode their margins, so they are looking at other ways to compete. We have seen a range of changes to criteria to help home movers over the last few weeks, including increasing maximum loan to income levels and reducing stress testing. This raft of activity comes on the back of the FCA – the financial services watchdog – encouraging lenders to look at ways to help consumers within the current regulation before a more comprehensive review kicks off in the Summer.

“The narrative around tariffs continues to shift almost daily, so I’d still expect some caution from lenders. We’re now just over three weeks away from May’s Bank Rate decision, and as things stand it’s looking highly likely we’ll see a second rate cut of 2025.”

What are the current UK mortgage rates?

Average rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages

Term	Average rate	Weekly change	Yearly change
2-year fixed	4.81%	-0.04%	-0.42%
5-year fixed	4.70%	-0.03%	-0.13%

Lowest rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages

Term	Lowest rate	Weekly change	Yearly change
2-year fixed	3.86%	+0.00%	-0.60%
5-year fixed	3.89%	-0.08%	-0.24%

Average fixed-term mortgage rates for home-buyers with 5-10% deposits

Loan to Value (LTV)	Term	Avg rate 09 Apr 2025	Avg rate 16 Apr 2025	Weekly Change	Yearly Change
95%	2-year-fixed	5.59%	5.54%	-0.05%	-0.44%
95%	5-year-fixed	5.36%	5.34%	-0.02%	-0.18%
90%	2-year-fixed	5.15%	5.10%	-0.05%	-0.40%
90%	5-year-fixed	4.91%	4.87%	-0.04%	-0.16%

Average fixed-term mortgage rates for home-buyers with 15-25% deposits

Loan to Value (LTV)	Term	Avg rate 09 Apr 2025	Avg rate 16 Apr 2025	Weekly Change	Yearly Change
85%	2-year-fixed	4.80%	4.77%	-0.03%	-0.44%
85%	5-year-fixed	4.70%	4.66%	-0.04%	-0.11%
75%	2-year-fixed	4.64%	4.61%	-0.03%	-0.43%
75%	5-year-fixed	4.56%	4.54%	-0.02%	-0.15%

Average fixed-term mortgage rates for home-buyers with 40% deposits

Loan to Value (LTV)	Term	Avg rate 09 Apr 2025	Avg rate 16 Apr 2025	Weekly Change	Yearly Change
60%	2-year-fixed	4.25%	4.21%	-0.04%	-0.46%
60%	5-year-fixed	4.22%	4.19%	-0.03%	-0.10%

These rates are provided by Podium and are an average based on 95% of the mortgage market. All rates are based on products with a circa £999 fee.