They are far higher than they were last May, when two- and five-year fixed rates stood at 3.03% and 3.17% respectively, although they are still some way off the levels seen last October, just after the mini-budget spooked markets and drove up borrowing costs.
"Over the past few days, we have seen a few lenders withdraw selected fixed products, with some pulling out of the market, at least temporarily. Product choice has started to fall, and as may be expected, average fixed mortgage rates are on the rise." But earlier on Tuesday the property website Zoopla said buyer confidence appeared to be improving, with sales agreed reaching their highest point of the year so far in April.
"What we've seen over the course of the last few months is that if rates settle around the 4-4.5% level, that is affordable for most buyers. If you look at the rates that came in shortly after the mini-budget at the back end of last year, we saw those rates going up to 5-5.5%, which brought in those faster house price falls."