"The mortgage market is showing positive signs of resilience and growth, with product choice rising month-on-month."
The number of mortgage options for borrowers has more than doubled since October 2022 and the average shelf life of a mortgage deal has stabilised, according to the latest data from Moneyfacts.
Product choice rose month-on-month to 5,264 options, the highest count since February 2022 (5,356) and more than double the availability seen in October 2022.
Within the individual LTV tiers, following month-on-month rises, options within the 75% and 85% LTV tiers are at their highest levels on Moneyfacts records.
The average shelf life of a mortgage product rose to 25 days, compared to just 15 days in October 2022.
Both the average two and five-year fixed rates fell between the start of April and the start of May, from 5.35% to 5.26% and from 5.05% to 4.97% respectively. The average two-year fixed rate still stands at 0.29% higher than the average five-year equivalent.
The average two-year tracker variable mortgage rate rose month-on-month to stand at 5.07% and the average SVR climbed to 7.37%, the highest level since December 2007 (7.47%).
Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said: “The mortgage market is showing positive signs of resilience and growth, with product choice rising month-on-month. There is now more than double the number of options compared to October 2022. In the aftermath of market turmoil towards the tail end of 2022, fixed rates rose significantly, and product choice fell, with the average shelf life of a mortgage plummeting to 15 days. The market average has now stabilised to a more amenable 25 days. Two notable areas of growth across the LTV spectrum were for borrowers who have 15% or 25% deposit or equity (75% and 85% LTV respectively), as choice in these sectors stands at an all-time high on Moneyfacts’ records.
“As was widely anticipated, variable rates continued to rise, but fixed mortgage rates rest lower on a month-on-month basis. Promising as these signs may be, it is anticipated fixed interest rates will start to rise due to volatile swap rates, and for the eighth month running, the average five-year fixed mortgage rate rests lower than the two-year equivalent. Borrowers who are coming off a fixed rate deal may be understandably concerned about the rate difference between their existing rate and those on offer in the present market. In May 2021, the average two-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 2.57%, it is now more than double that. Those on a longer-term fixed mortgage may note the average five-year fixed mortgage rate in May 2018 stood at 2.91% but is now over 2% higher."
