Base Rate Holds, Rates Reduce

It’s worth the reminder that Bank of England’s base rate doesn’t directly correlate to the fixed rates we see on offer by lenders. They’re more dictated by the SONIA swap rates, and whilst – yes – the overall UK economy, global economy and inflation do have an effect on these, it’s not a direct correlation to base rate.

The latest base rate meeting was held earlier this month which is understandable considering Rachel Reeves delivers her budget on the 26^th November, however we’ve been seeing some lenders reduce their rates over the past week or two. This mimics what has happened with SONIA swap rates, too – with 5 year swaps sat at 3.528% as of the 12^th November 2025, compared to 3.745% a month prior on the 13^th October 2025.

This downward trend is welcomed, and some high-street lending giants led the way with cuts, and then it usually takes a little while for more specialist lenders to follow.

This ignites activity in the market which I feel is well overdue. We’re seeing consistent levels of landlords purchase property, even with the renters rights bill dates getting rolled out, but I feel that experienced landlords aren’t going to be too phased by this as they operate at professional, high-standards anyway.

The rate reductions also create healthy competition in the marketplace, and prompt lenders to review how to make their proposition attractive to gain more clients and lend more. I always welcome it, as if a lender can’t make rate cuts due to how they’re funded, then perhaps they’ll improve their proposition as a whole, so it becomes a win-win ultimately for the client.

At Fowler Smith Mortgages & Protection, we’ve seen consistent interest in landlords still buying buy to let property, whether they be single lets, HMOs, multi unit blocks, or even commercial units and more niche property types. There’s still interest with developers looking at land acquisition, so the confidence is high.

I’ve also noticed more emergence of lenders coming to market, too. Lenders that are more tech-focused, or backed by European countries allowing them to offer higher income multiples on residential deals due to longer fixed rates and different methods of stress-testing, along with new buy to let lenders who welcome the more, let’s say ‘quirky’ property or tenancy types.

On the whole, it’s a great sign to see lenders showing their appetite to the market and making sure that property purchasing still remains a viable option for many.

Jonathan Fowler