Yorkshire slashes fixed rate mortgages

The society has announced rate reductions across two, three and five-year terms with a two-year fix now at 3.34 per cent at 95 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) and a three-year fixed rate at 2.48 per cent at 90 per cent LTV.

The products feature arrangement fees of £995 and £1,495 respectively.

At the lower LTV end of the market is a five-year fix for up to 65 per cent LTV at 1.93 per cent with a £995 product fee.

Brendan Gilligan, mortgage product manager for Yorkshire Building Society, said the reductions offer borrowers “a choice of competitive options with a range of deposits” as well as providing them with the security of knowing how much their mortgage repayments will be for the next couple of years.

Yorkshire follows the likes of Tesco Bank, Aldermore and Nationwide in reducing fixed rates.

The cuts to fixed rate mortgages come as research from Moneyfacts revealed variable rate mortgages are creeping up despite August’s base rate cut.

According to the data average two-year tracker rates have returned to 2.01 per cent, the level they were at before base rate was cut.

Charlotte Nelson, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said the variable rate market was “an easy target for increased rates” as lenders focus on offering increasingly competitive fixes.

Phil Whitehouse, managing director of MCI Mortgage Club, said lenders are keen to “lock-in” clients.

He said: "It is true that lenders are putting a lot of focus on their fixed rate ranges at present.

“It makes sense to lock-in clients and many are offering competitive products in order to do so.

"Yorkshire's latest cuts are clear examples of that. I think we will start to see greater competition in the longer term fix market too as uncertainty in the financial markets as a whole leaves more people seeking longer term security. 

"While variable rates may have increased they are still at very low levels and as such should still be attractive to those clients who don't want to fix just yet."