Nationwide cuts mortgage rates within hours of Bank of England pausing hikes

The country’s biggest building society Nationwide said it will be cutting mortgage rates only hours after the Bank of England opted to end its cycle of interest rate hikes.

The Bank held interest rates at 5.25% earlier today, the first time it had kept rates where they were since December 2021. Markets had considered a pause a possibility, but saw a hike as more likely.

Hours later, Nationwide said it would be cutting many of its rates by 0.31 percentage points.

The new rates include offers below 5% for new customers at up to 75% loan-to-value and for customers moving house at up  to 85%.

Lenders had been cutting rates through most of August and early September as the City began to see a lower peak to the Bank rate. But those reductions had seemingly stopped before the Bank’s 5-4 decision today.

Elliott Culley, director of Switch Mortgage Finance, said he expects other lenders to follow: “More good news in the mortgage market after today’s base rate decision. I think rates will continue to fall and will look even better by the start of October.

He added that more deals below the 5% mark  were coming to the market.

It’s great to see rates starting with a four and not just at the lowest loan-to-values.”

Riz Malik, director of R3 Mortgages, said: “Nationwide is the first high street lender to reprice within a couple of hours of the base rate announcement. With some sub-5% deals on offer, I expect others to come out fighting within the next 24 hours. It’s now firmly game on.”

This morning, Nationwide also announced a new 8% savings account with a £200 switching offer.