Platform has made reductions across its range of two-, three- and five-year fixed-rate residential and remortgage products up to 80 per cent LTV.
Two-year fixes have been cut by 0.1 of a percentage point to 1.59 per cent, with a £1,499 product fee. The rate of interest applicable to the product with a reduced fee of £999 has been lowered by 0.15 of a percentage point to 1.74 per cent.
Three-year fixes have also been lowered from 2.44 per cent to 2.29 per cent, with a £999 product fee.
Meanwhile, five-year fixes are now available at 2.64 per cent with a £1,499 product fee, or 2.79 per cent with a charge of £999.
Elsewhere, the intermediary mortgage lender of The Co-operative Bank has discounted its two-year fixed-rate product up to 90 per cent LTV available for purchases only, by up to 0.10 of a percentage point to 3.39 per cent, with a £999 fee.
All deals come with a free standard valuation for remortgagers and purchasers, plus free legals for remortgagers. A £250 cashback is also available on selected products.
Platform has also increased some of its lower LTV rates by between 0.05 of a percentage point to 0.15 of a percentage point to realign these deals with the market. These include two-year fixes at 60 per cent LTV, and five-year fixes at 60 per cent and 70 per cent LTV, with fees of either £1,499 and £999. Fee-free deals remain unchanged.
Provider view
Stuart Beattie, head of mortgages at Platform, said: “We are constantly reviewing the market to ensure we remain competitive with a varied range of mortgages for brokers to offer to their clients.
“Our latest rate reductions, which are mainly focused on our 80 per cent and 90 per cent LTV mortgages, will make these rates particularly attractive to those borrowers with smaller deposits who are specifically looking for higher LTV deals.”
Adviser view
Derek Varty, IFA at London-based Financial Planning Objectives, said: “If you have a smaller value loan, you would naturally wish to avoid a high product fee because it would not necessarily represent good value. Whereas if you wish to take out a high-value loan, paying the higher fee for the sake of a lower rate would be better value over a long period of time.”
Mr Varty said that the summer period has contributed to the slowdown in new mortgage products and discounts. He added: “Part of this is because interest rates are going to increase and lenders are waiting for this to happen. Lenders are not ready to commit themselves with a new deal over that period.
Commenting on the current trends in the mortgage market, Mr Varty said: “I think lenders are trying to get a lot of people onto fixed-rate deals which are higher than the standard variable rates.”
Charges
Charges range from £999 to £1,499.
Verdict
The summer slowdown appears to be in full swing, with only a few lenders announcing cuts to their products. The reductions here are competitive, although not market-leading.
The announcement of an increase in a small number of lower LTV rates to realign them with the current market rates appears to represent a change of tack in the raging price war between providers. It will be interesting to see whether other lenders follow suit.
