BARCLAYS AND SANTANDER CUT RATES –  Some lenders now have better options for those remortgaging

Competition has intensified among mortgage lenders for people who are searching for a new deal, bringing some relief to those facing higher bills.

Brokers say that some lenders now have better options for those remortgaging than for those buying a property.

This will help people whose relatively cheap fixed-rate deal is coming to an end and are looking for a new one.

Two major lenders, Barclays and Santander, have announced further significant cuts.

The firms said they would reduce rates on some of their products on Wednesday by up to 0.82 percentage points.

The interest rate on a fixed mortgage does not change until the deal expires, usually after two or five years, and a new one is chosen to replace it. Doing nothing would leave people on a variable rate, which is very expensive – with an average rate of more than 8%.

About 1.6 million existing borrowers have relatively cheap fixed-rate deals expiring this year. While their next deal is very likely to be more expensive, a series of cuts in rates by major lenders since the start of the year is set to ease some of that financial impact.