SANTANDER has announced it is reducing selected residential and buy-to-let fixed and tracker rates in its new business range from Monday, with brokers saying lenders are competing hard and are “willing to take a margin hit today to keep pipelines alive tomorrow”.
Santander is reducing all new business first-time buyer (FTB) 10-year fixed rates and selected home mover (including new build and large loans) fixed rates by up to 0.15% — and selected remortgage rates, including large loans, by up to 0.19%.
New business buy-to-let purchase and remortgage fixed rates are also being cut by up to 0.23%, although an FTB 85% loan-to-value (LTV) 2-year fixed rate with a £999 fee will rise by 0.05%. The lender’s My First Mortgage fixed rate isn’t changing.
Meanwhile, 2-year tracker rates for FTBs and home movers (including new build) will be reduced by up to 0.5%, and 2-year tracker rates will fall by up to 0.4% across home mover and remortgage large loans.
For product transfers, selected residential 2-, 3- and 5-year fixed rates will reduce by up to 0.15%, while all buy-to-let 2- and 5-year fixed rates will be cut by up to 0.23%.
New business push
Riz Malik, Independent Financial Adviser at Southend-on-Sea-based R3 Wealth, said lenders are fighting for new business.
He continued: “As we move towards the end of the first half of 2026, lenders are keen to bolster their mortgage books and take on more new business after a muted couple of months due to the war in the Middle East.
“They are still conscious of the global economic backdrop but are also keen to do their best to get business on their books, and Santander is no exception. Reductions in tracker rates will be especially welcomed by those not seeking to fix.”
Ken James, Director at London-based Contractor Mortgage Services, agreed that competition is driving the cuts but warned they may not be enough to get the market moving: “Lenders are fighting for volume in a sluggish market, and they’re willing to take a margin hit today to keep pipelines alive tomorrow.
“However, this is a pricing strategy rather than a market turning point. Is it enough to get the UK’s housing market moving again? Not likely.”
Some brokers were more upbeat. Richard Davidson, Mortgage Advisor at onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk, said: “This is a strong move from Santander to reduce across the board, and an indication that other lenders should follow soon.”
While Katy Eatenton, Mortgage & Protection Specialist at St Albans-based Lifetime Wealth Management, said that “if mortgage rates continue to fall, confidence will start to return”.
Swap rates falling
Aaron Strutt, Product and Communications Director at London-based Trinity Financial, noted that it was only earlier this week that it seemed rates were going north again.
He said: “Swap rates have started to come down again and some lenders are still improving their mortgage rates even though it looked pretty certain they were going to start putting them up just a few days ago.
“Santander is bringing the price of its trackers back down, which is good news because they are still very popular even though there are messages coming out that the base rate may have to rise.
“HSBC’s 4.45% two-year fix, TSB’s 4.64% three-year fix and HSBC’s 4.61% five-year fix top the best buy tables, although Barclays and Halifax still have sub-4% trackers.
“There is a lot of economic uncertainty at the moment, but lots of people still want to get on the property ladder. We are speaking to more renters trying to purchase their rented homes using concessionary purchase mortgages as the number of buy-to-let properties being put on the market continues to rise.”
Justin Moy, Managing Director at Chelmsford-based EHF Mortgages, said the cuts should have a positive impact: “It’s good to see Santander bringing its rates into line with the rest of the recent changes on the High Street.
“With almost every type of borrower benefiting in this round of changes, this will have a positive impact on those looking for a new deal or who are in an active application.”
