The Abbey National has announced rate cuts on their two and three year fixed rate mortgages of up to 0.15 percent, the second round of cuts in the last 10 days.
The lowest 2 year fixed rate Abbey National mortgage can now be had at 6.34 percent, with a fee of GBP999, while the equivalent three year offer is just 6.29 percent. These mortgages require at least a 25 percent deposit to qualify.
Soon to be breaking the 6 percent barrier is a new Abbey National mortgage with a 5.99 percent rate, though the maximum loan to value will be 70 percent rather than the usual 75 percent. This will be for a three year fixed term and has a fee of GBP1,695, with a maximum loan value of GBP250,000.
According to just released industry figures the number of mortgage approvals is down by a massive 20 percent compared with last month and almost 60 percent less than the same time last year.
There were just 28,000 mortgages approved last month, the lowest number since the records began in 1997. Bank of Scotland, for which mortgages are a core part of their business confirmed the validity of these numbers, saying they had seen similar, though not as extreme, results.
What the Bank of Scotland have seen though is a continuation in the level of remortgage business, something that they have been pleased with since this shows that there is still interest in the rates as they stand.
The Abbey National Intermediaries Division has just announced that it will be offering some exclusive mortgage deals for a number of selected partners.
The offers being provided by Abbey National vary from a low of 5.76 percent up to 5.81 percent, with at least a 50 percent deposit being needed for all the special mortgage deals available. A spokesman said that more offers like this would be released over time, dependent on the situation in the mortgage market at the time.
The Abbey National spokesman went on to say that this was a clear indication to the intermediary market that they are happy to lend money still and support for this important element of the mortgage market is very important to them.
