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Sam covers personal finance topics, from the best savings rates to the reasons mortgage lenders say no. He enjoys crunching the numbers to help consumers get ahead.
In early March, the mortgage market was awash with deals that had rates starting with a three. Now they are a rarer find but do still exist.
There’s a catch, though. To get one, you’ll usually need to choose a tracker mortgage, meaning your rate could rise.
Here, Which? explains who these deals suit and why trackers are suddenly dominating the cheapest rates on the market.
The only type of mortgage to currently offer sub-4% rates is a tracker. A tracker mortgage is a home loan where the interest rate you pay is based on an external rate – usually the Bank of England base rate – plus a set percentage.
In fact, out of the 100 mortgages with the lowest rates, 94 are trackers and six are discount variable rates. A discount mortgage is a home loan where the interest rate is pegged at a set amount below the lender's standard variable rate (SVR) for either a set period (normally two or five years) or for your whole mortgage.
Major lenders have continued to cut fixed rates since the decision to hold the base rate on 30 April, such as Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, First Direct, Lloyds and Halifax. Even so, the cheapest deals on the market are still mostly variable-rate mortgages.
According to Moneyfacts data, you need to go beyond the 100 cheapest mortgages before finding a fixed-rate deal. The first is a two-year fix with an interest rate of 4.4%.
The cheapest five-year fixed-rate mortgage currently has a rate of 4.58%, making it the 205th cheapest mortgage when ranked by rate.
There are 21 sub-4% mortgages (last checked 6 May), offered by Barclays, Lloyds Bank and Halifax. However, to qualify for Barclays' 3.96% tracker, you have to be a Premier Banking customer – either earning at least £75,000 a year or holding £100,000 in savings or investments with Barclays. The tracker with the lowest rate for standard Barclays customers is 4.01%.
The number of sub-4% mortgages increased slightly, by two, since the base rate decision on Thursday 29 April.
Tracker mortgages with rates starting with a three are available for remortgagers, home movers and first-time buyers. However, only borrowers with low loan-to-values (LTVs) can access most of these deals.
All but one sub-4% mortgage has a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) of 60% – meaning borrowers would usually need at least a 40% deposit or equity in their home. The exception is Barclays’ 3.96% tracker for Premier Banking customers, which is available up to 75% LTV.
With trackers now offering market-leading rates, they're increasing in popularity.
In April, the number of borrowers choosing trackers tripled month-on-month, according to L&C. Despite the uptick, the majority of borrowers still chose fixed-rate mortgages. Trackers made up just 14% of L&C mortgage applications in April.
David Hollingworth, an expert at L&C Mortgages, said: 'A wider margin between fixes and the initial rates on tracker deals has seen more borrowers betting on base rate only seeing a gentle increase, if it rises at all. Others will be hoping that fixed rates can improve further and are using a tracker with no early repayment charges as a holding position, allowing a switch to a fixed rate at a later date.'
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Start by considering your attitude to risk and whether you could afford higher monthly payments if rates rise.
If you could cope with your repayments increasing, a tracker mortgage will currently usually offer lower initial monthly payments. However, if you prefer the certainty of knowing your repayments will stay the same for a set period, a fixed-rate mortgage is likely to be a better fit.
When choosing a mortgage, it's also important to consider your future plans. If you think you'll move home sooner, a shorter-term deal - such as a two-year fixed-rate - could be more suitable, as you'll likely face early repayment charges if you move home while locked into a fixed rate.
In addition, make sure to consider the whole mortgage deal. Nicholas Mendes, from John Charcol, advises borrowers to 'look beyond the headline rate. Product fees, valuation costs, cashback, affordability rules and whether a lender will allow a simple product transfer can all affect the real cost.'
Every day, we run an analysis of the best mortgage rates for fixed-rate and tracker mortgages.
Our tables show the best two-year tracker rates available, whether you’re a first-time buyer, home mover or are remortgaging.
| 60% | Halifax | 72% | 3.96% | £1,499 | 7.24% |
| 60% fee free | Principality Building Society | 80% | 4.4% | £0 | 6.25% |
| 75% | Barclays | 75% | 3.96% | £999 | 5.74% |
| 75% fee free | Principality Building Society | 80% | 4.45% | £0 | 6.25% |
| 90% | Halifax | 72% | 4.57% | £1,499 | 7.24% |
| 90% fee free | Royal Bank of Scotland | 68% | 5.1% | £0 | 6.74% |
Table notes: Data from Moneyfacts, updated daily at 1am and 1pm. Customer scores are based on a survey of 5,016 members of the public in August-September 2025 and combine overall satisfaction with likelihood to recommend the provider. The average customer score is 74%. To become a Which? Recommended Provider a lender must get a top customer score, consistently offer competitive deals and be fully covered by the Financial Conduct Authority banking standards regime. 'Revert rate' is the standard variable rate (SVR), which is the mortgage rate you'd be transferred onto when your deal ended if it remained unchanged between now and then.
| 60% | Halifax | 72% | 3.96% | £1,499 | 7.24% |
| 60% fee free | Principality Building Society | 80% | 4.4% | £0 | 6.25% |
| 70% | Barclays | 75% | 3.96% | £999 | 5.74% |
| 70% fee free | Principality Building Society | 80% | 4.45% | £0 | 6.25% |
| 80% | Halifax | 72% | 4.13% | £1,499 | 7.24% |
| 80% fee free | Principality Building Society | 80% | 4.55% | £0 | 6.25% |
Table notes: Data from Moneyfacts, updated daily at 1am and 1pm. Customer scores are based on a survey of 5,016 members of the public in August-September 2025 and combine overall satisfaction with likelihood to recommend the provider. The average customer score is 74%. To become a Which? Recommended Provider a lender must get a top customer score, consistently offer competitive deals and be fully covered by the Financial Conduct Authority banking standards regime. 'Revert rate' is the standard variable rate (SVR), which is the mortgage rate you'd be transferred onto when your deal ended if it remained unchanged between now and then.
| 60% | Halifax | 72% | 3.96% | £1,499 | 7.24% |
| 60% fee free | Principality Building Society | 80% | 4.4% | £0 | 6.25% |
| 70% | Halifax | 72% | 4.08% | £1,499 | 7.24% |
| 70% fee free | Principality Building Society | 80% | 4.45% | £0 | 6.25% |
| 80% | Halifax | 72% | 4.13% | £1,499 | 7.24% |
| 80% fee free | Principality Building Society | 80% | 4.55% | £0 | 6.25% |
Table notes: Data from Moneyfacts, updated daily at 1am and 1pm. Customer scores are based on a survey of 5,016 members of the public in August-September 2025 and combine overall satisfaction with likelihood to recommend the provider. The average customer score is 74%. To become a Which? Recommended Provider a lender must get a top customer score, consistently offer competitive deals and be fully covered by the Financial Conduct Authority banking standards regime. 'Revert rate' is the standard variable rate (SVR), which is the mortgage rate you'd be transferred onto when your deal ended if it remained unchanged between now and then.
Currently, most experts predict that the base rate will remain at 3.75% in 2026, or rise slightly to 4%. There continues to be uncertainty over what will happen to the base rate in 2026, as it's still unclear how much the UK economy will be impacted by conflict in the Middle East.
The next base rate decision is on 18 June.
