Product choice in the mortgage market rose month on month to 7,158 options, with borrowers now able to access 650 more deals than a year ago. This is the highest level of availability since October 2007, when 7,421 products were on the market. Options at the 90% and 95% loan-to-value tiers are close to 18-year highs.
Increased activity has also lengthened the average shelf life of a mortgage product, which now stands at 21 days.
Fixed mortgage rates remain below 5% at the start of 2026. The average two-year fixed rate continued to edge down, falling to 4.83% in January, a month-on-month decrease of 0.03%. This compares with a larger 0.08% fall recorded at the start of December 2025. The average five-year fixed rate was unchanged at 4.91%.
The Moneyfacts Average Mortgage Rate declined to 4.87% from 4.91% the previous month and is now 0.53% lower than a year ago, when it stood at 5.40%.
Tracker rates also continued to fall. The average two-year tracker variable rate dropped to 4.44% from 4.66% month on month and is down 1.03% year on year from 5.47%, supported by cuts to the Bank of England base rate.
For remortgage customers, the incentive to switch has strengthened as fixed rates sit well below standard variable rates. The average SVR eased to 7.25%, down 0.56% compared with a year earlier, when it stood at 7.81%. The SVR peaked at 8.19% in November and December 2023.
Rachel Springall, finance commentator at Moneyfacts, said: “Borrowers and lenders will be in a state of optimism, off the back of a positive 12 months for the mortgage market in 2025. Expectations are high for a booming market in 2026. Mortgage rates are lower year-on-year, and the choice of deals is abundant. The relaxation in stress testing and expectations for further rate cuts will help ease the affordability constraints on borrowers. First-time buyers are not being left behind by this progress, as deals aimed at those with a low deposit now stand at their highest levels for almost 18 years, yet more progress to support underserved buyers would be welcomed amid a lack of affordable housing. Innovation is set to become a key talking point this year, as expanding options for first-time buyers and modernising regulation are some of the key themes to be reviewed by the Financial Conduct Authority, laid out in its ‘Roadmap’ for the mortgage market.
“The start to a New Year is typically a slow burner for mortgage re-pricing, but lower swap rates should incentivise lenders to pass on rate cuts in the coming weeks. As we have seen over the past few months, fixed rate cuts have been in abundance, fuelling healthy drops to the average two-year fixed mortgage rate, and many lenders appeared to pass on cuts by the Bank of England ahead of reductions to the base rate. Amid hopes of more cuts to come among borrowers, the appetite for a shorter-term fixed deal could outweigh the appeal of longer-term fixed mortgages.
“Remortgage customers stand to make substantial savings when moving off a revert rate if they switch to a two-year fixed deal. Moving off the average revert rate of 7.25% to the average two-year fixed rate at 60% LTV of 4.28%, remortgage customers could save over £5,000 in repayments over one year, based on a mortgage of £250,000 over 25 years. As it stands, there is a rate difference of 0.28% on the average two-year fixed deal at 60% LTV versus the five-year fixed equivalent, so a shorter term may seem more appealing for those coming off a low fixed rate. UK Finance expects a 10% rise in external remortgaging in 2026, and 1.8 million fixed rate mortgages are due to come to an end this year. However, some of these will include buyers who managed to lock into a cheap rate in 2020, so they will need to seek advice for support if they are concerned about rising repayments by moving onto a higher fixed rate.”
| Mortgage market analysis | ||||||
| Jan-24 | Jan-25 | Jul-25 | Dec-25 | Jan-26 | ||
| Fixed and variable rate products | Total product count – all LTVs | 5,899 | 6,508 | 6,908 | 7,054 | 7,158 |
| Product count – 95% LTV | 270 | 366 | 447 | 476 | 489 | |
| Product count – 90% LTV | 733 | 759 | 856 | 917 | 927 | |
| Product count – 60% LTV | 682 | 780 | 800 | 805 | 809 | |
| All products | Shelf-life (days) | 21 | 21 | 16 | 18 | 21 |
| All LTVs | Average two-year fixed rate | 5.93% | 5.48% | 5.09% | 4.86% | 4.83% |
| Average five-year fixed rate | 5.55% | 5.25% | 5.08% | 4.91% | 4.91% | |
| 95% LTV | Average two-year fixed rate | 6.21% | 5.86% | 5.54% | 5.33% | 5.29% |
| Average five-year fixed rate | 5.62% | 5.47% | 5.50% | 5.33% | 5.33% | |
| 90% LTV | Average two-year fixed rate | 5.94% | 5.75% | 5.32% | 5.13% | 5.09% |
| Average five-year fixed rate | 5.65% | 5.36% | 5.17% | 5.07% | 5.07% | |
| 60% LTV | Average two-year fixed rate | 5.41% | 4.96% | 4.57% | 4.32% | 4.28% |
| Average five-year fixed rate | 5.06% | 4.79% | 4.68% | 4.57% | 4.56% | |
| All LTVs | Standard Variable Rate (SVR) | 8.18% | 7.81% | 7.42% | 7.27% | 7.25% |
| All LTVs | Average two-year tracker rate | 6.15% | 5.47% | 4.91% | 4.66% | 4.44% |
| Data shown is as at the first available day of the month, unless stated otherwise. | ||||||
| Source: Moneyfacts Treasury Reports | ||||||
| Moneyfacts Average Mortgage Rate | |||||
| Jan-24 | Jan-25 | Jul-25 | Dec-25 | Jan-26 | |
| Moneyfacts Average
Mortgage Rate |
5.78% | 5.40% | 5.11% | 4.91% | 4.87% |
| Calculated from the total of all on-sale, core market, fixed and variable tracker mortgages. Standard exclusions apply: Self-build only, shared ownership only, new build only, shared equity only, standard variable rates and adverse credit | |||||
| Source: Moneyfacts Average Mortgage Rate. | |||||
First-time buyer demand edges higher as rates stabilise
