Here’s a concise, up-to-date snapshot of the UK mortgage market (sources and dates shown inline):

Key macro picture

• Bank Rate: The Bank of England’s Bank Rate was reduced to 4.00% at the MPC meeting ending 6 August 2025; the next MPC decision is scheduled for 18 September 2025. (bankofengland.co.uk)

What’s happening to mortgage pricing

• Lenders are actively reshaping product ranges. Many major banks/building societies have been cutting selected two‑ and five‑year fixed rates in September 2025, pushing some five‑year deals down towards (and in places below) the 5% mark as competition increases. Expect continued short‑term volatility between swap‑rate moves and base‑rate expectations. (forbes.com)
• Buy‑to‑let (BTL) fixed rates have eased noticeably and are at multi‑year lows (Moneyfacts/industry trackers report two‑ and five‑year BTL averages materially lower than 2023 peaks), though landlord demand to buy new BTLs remains weak. (ft.com)

Product availability / lending behaviour

• High‑LTV products are reappearing: Newcastle Building Society launched a 98% LTV first‑time buyer product (five‑year fixed at ~5.25%) in mid‑September 2025 — part of a wider return of low‑deposit products (with varying, tighter eligibility criteria). These deals often exclude gifted deposits and have strict underwriting. (theguardian.com)
• At the same time, many lenders are selectively withdrawing or re-pricing riskier slices of the market (eg certain high‑LTV, self-employed or 100% deals earlier in the cycle), so product availability still varies by lender and broker channel. (forbes.com)

Market activity & prices

• Mortgage approvals (indicator of underlying demand): July 2025 approvals were about 65.35k (seasonally adjusted), showing a recovery in approvals versus earlier 2025 months and indicating sustained buyer activity into mid‑2025. (Bank of England series / market trackers). (tradingeconomics.com)
• House prices: Mixed signals across indices in Aug 2025 — Halifax reported a third consecutive monthly rise in August 2025 and an average price of £299,331 (a record), with annual growth easing to ~+2.2%, while RICS surveys showed weakening buyer demand and the market losing momentum in some regions. Regional divergence remains pronounced. (cherryplc.co.uk)

Borrower implications (practical takeaways)

• Remortgaging risk: A large cohort of borrowers who secured very low fixed rates in 2020–22 face materially higher payments when deals expire; many will need to budget for higher rates or actively remortgage/switch when better deals appear. (theguardian.com)
• Opportunity vs caution: If you’re switching or fixing now, shop across lenders/brokers — product fees, LTV and eligibility materially affect headline rates. If you’re on a variable tracker, lock‑ins/five‑year fixes are increasingly competitive in parts of the market but timing matters since swap markets and Bank Rate expectations can move deals. (forbes.com)

Short outlook (near term)

• Policy: The BoE has signalled a cautious path; markets and major banks have pushed out the timing of material rate cuts given lingering inflation upside — so wholesale swap rates and lender pricing could stay choppy through late‑2025. (reuters.com)
• Lender competition should keep producing pockets of cheaper fixed deals, but product breadth and pricing will remain uneven across LTV bands and borrower profiles.

If you’d like, I can:

• Pull current “best buy” two‑ and five‑year rates for a specific LTV (e.g., 60%, 80%, 90%) and today’s lender product examples; or
• Run a quick remortgage affordability comparison for a sample mortgage balance and term to show payment changes.

Which (if any) would you like me to fetch next?