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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.
On 1 January 2026, there were 746 sub-4% mortgages, with a wide range of fixed-rate and tracker mortgages starting with a three. That's all changed.
Just two sub-4% deals remain after mortgage rates crept higher again over the past few weeks.
Here, Which? explains who can still get a sub-4% mortgage, why the cheapest deals have become more expensive, and whether rates could start falling again.
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Since late July, there have been just two mortgages starting with the number three. Unfortunately, most borrowers will not be able to access these deals.
One is only available to existing Nationwide mortgage customers, while the other is restricted to Barclays Premier customers. To qualify for Premier status, you need at least £100,000 in savings or investments with Barclays, or an annual income of at least £75,000.
The lowest rate available without requiring you to be an existing customer or meet an income requirement is 4.05%, according to Moneyfacts data (5 August). The deal is a HSBC tracker mortgage available to first-time buyers and home movers with at least a 40% deposit.
For first-time buyers with a 10% deposit the lowest rate available is 4.54%.
July's Bank of England base rate decision was the fifth hold of the year. With a stable base rate for the first eight months of the year, why have mortgage rates jumped up and down in recent months?
The answer: global instability and fluctuating energy prices, driven by conflict in the Middle East. In particular, the volatile situation in the region, with periods of escalation followed by de-escalation, has tormented financial markets.
When there is de-escalation, swap rates, a key benchmark that lenders use to price fixed-rate mortgages, fall. This typically leads to lenders cutting rates. However, when the conflict reignites it pushes swap rates up, causing providers to push mortgage rates up.
A handful of lenders have cut rates in the first few days of the month. On 4 August, Nationwide reduced selected fixed-rate deals by up to 0.19 percentage points. However, these cuts do not affect the cheapest mortgages currently available, as the lowest rates on the market are all tracker deals.
Nicholas Mendes, from mortgage broker John Charcol, believes Nationwide's move is unlikely to trigger a wave of rate cuts across the market. Instead, he argues that swap rates will need to fall further before lenders make more widespread reductions to fixed rate mortgages.
That view is reflected by recent lender activity. Since Nationwide announced its cuts, West Brom Building Society, Halifax and Lloyds have all increased rates on selected fixed-rate deals. Virgin Money, which was purchased by Nationwide in 2024, is the only other major lender to have reduced rates.
With some providers putting rates up and others making deals cheaper, you may want to speak to a mortgage broker to get the best deal.
A whole-of-market mortgage broker can search for a deal that suits your specific circumstances and ensure that you get the best value for money when taking into account the headline rate, along with any fees.
To show how rate increases affect your monthly mortgage payments, we've set out two scenarios in the table.
For each scenario, we show the monthly repayments at four interest rates: 4%, 4.2%, 4.5% and 5%.
| Scenario | Loan amount | Mortgage term remaining | Monthly repayment 4% | Monthly repayment 4.2% | Monthly repayment 4.5% | Monthly repayment 5% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scenario 1 | £250,000 | 30 | £1,194 | £1,223 | £1,267 | £1,342 |
| Scenario 2 | £200,000 | 15 | £1,479 | £1,500 | £1,530 | £1,582 |
In both cases, a rise from 4% to 4.2% adds more than £240 to your mortgage payments over a year.
In scenario one, a rise from 4% to 4.5% results in you forking out an extra £876 over 12 months.
To understand how different rates and term lengths impact the amount you pay each month, you can use the Which? mortgage repayment calculator. It can tell you the monthly repayment and the total cost of the loan, whether you include the fee or not.
Getting a competitive rate is essential, but it isn't the only figure to focus on. Deals with market-leading rates can sometimes have substantial upfront fees, potentially thousands of pounds.
In many cases, fee-free deals with slightly higher interest rates work out cheaper overall than deals with the absolute lowest headline rate. Calculating the total cost across the full term of the deal is the best way to ensure you pick the right mortgage.
