Mortgage market update | November 2026

The last few weeks have seen some changes, with a Bank of England rate increase (the first in over 3 years), further details on the government's new first-time buyer scheme and lenders becoming more flexible with how much people can borrow.

Bank Rate Rises to 4% - But What About Mortgage Rates?

The Bank of England increased Bank Rate from 3.75% to 4% earlier this month. The vote ended 8 – 1, with one member voting to increase by 0.50%.  

You might expect that to mean mortgage rates would immediately start increasing too, but that hasn't really been what I've seen.

In fact, since the announcement, the mortgage market has been fairly flat, with some lenders actually reducing their rates slightly.

Of course, tracker mortgages are a different story, as they're linked to base ratre and will generally increase when it rises.

But fixed mortgage rates don't always move in the same direction. Lenders price fixed deals using swap rates. They didn’t move a huge amount during and after as the increase was expected.

It's another example of why the headlines don't always tell the full story.

Your First Home – Help to Buy Repackaged?

Something Last month, I mentioned the government's proposed new first-time buyer scheme, Your First Home, and questioned whether it was really just Help to Buy coming back under a different name.

Having now seen the further details, my opinion hasn't really changed.

The scheme is expected to allow eligible first-time buyers to purchase a new-build property with a 2.5% deposit, supported by a 20% government equity loan.

One notable difference from the old Help to Buy scheme is the introduction of household income caps, with different limits for London and the rest of England.

But my biggest question remains the same. Why restrict it to new-build homes?

I'm sure it will help some first-time buyers get onto the property ladder, but I can't help thinking it'll be just as welcome to developers trying to sell their properties.

It still feels very much like Help to Buy repackaged to me.

Six Times Income – Are We Stretching Things Too Far?

At a time when we're constantly hearing about rising costs and household budgets being squeezed, one lender has announced that it's prepared to lend people more.

Skipton has introduced options allowing eligible borrowers to borrow up to six times their income, subject to affordability checks and other criteria.

There have also been changes to the regulatory framework, giving lenders more flexibility around higher loan-to-income mortgages.

On the face of it, this could be good news for first-time buyers and people looking to move.

But I do wonder whether we're starting to stretch things too far, particularly when buyers are borrowing at higher loan-to-values plus how expensive things are getting.

Are we heading back towards some of the lending practices we saw before 2008?

Just because a lender is prepared to offer six times your income, does that necessarily mean you should borrow it?

Risk warnings

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage