Five-year fixed mortgage rate hits 6%

Where rates stand

The figures below are market averages across all products and lenders, as reported by Moneyfacts on 5 October 2026. They are not an offer available to any particular borrower. An average mortgage rate is a measure of products on sale across the market and is not a quotation for any individual borrower.

Moneyfacts reported that the average five-year fixed residential mortgage rate reached 6.00 per cent on Monday 5 October 2026. That is the highest level since 27 September 2023, when the average stood at 6.03 per cent. The same average was 5.98 per cent on Friday 2 October 2026, so the move above 6 per cent happened over a single weekend. The average two-year fixed rate is 5.98 per cent, its highest level since December 2023. Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said average fixed mortgage rates rising back to three-year highs will be disastrous news for borrowers.

The headline rate is only part of the picture. Moneyfacts counted nine fixed-rate mortgage deals priced below 5 per cent on Monday morning, down from 1,494 at the start of September 2026. Including products available to borrowers in Northern Ireland only, Moneyfacts counted 107 fixed-rate mortgage deals priced below 5 per cent, compared with 1,691 at the start of September 2026. Rachel Springall said the impact on sub-5 per cent fixed mortgages has been brutal, with around 1,500 deals priced below 5 per cent vanishing since the start of September. Those are the numbers a borrower actually meets when searching for a deal.

Why the sub-5 per cent collapse matters more than the headline

A move in an average of a few basis points is abstract. The disappearance of around 1,500 deals priced under 5 per cent is not. It changes what appears on a comparison screen. When you filter for fixed rates below 5 per cent, the list that once ran to hundreds of products now runs to a handful. That is the practical difference between a market where cheap deals are plentiful and one where they are scarce, and it happened in a matter of weeks rather than months. The average tells you where the middle of the market sits. The count of sub-5 per cent deals tells you whether there is anything at the cheap end at all.

Averages also include products at high loan to value and products with restrictive criteria, so they are not a description of what any one borrower will be offered. If you have substantial equity, a strong credit profile and a straightforward property, you may still be offered a rate below the average. The pool of genuinely cheap deals has nonetheless thinned dramatically. Moneyfacts counted 107 sub-5 per cent products when Northern Ireland only deals are included, against 1,691 at the start of September. That is a fall of more than 90 per cent in roughly five weeks, and it is the change that determines whether a remortgage search produces a shortlist or an empty page.

Rachel Springall said the impact on sub-5 per cent fixed mortgages has been brutal, with around 1,500 deals priced below 5 per cent vanishing since the start of September. The figure that matters most is therefore not the headline rate but the collapse in sub-5 per cent deals from 1,494 to nine, because that is what a borrower actually encounters when looking for a deal. A rate of 6.00 per cent on an average is a statistic. Nine products below 5 per cent is a constraint on choice.

What is pushing rates up

Fixed mortgage pricing is influenced by swap rates, which reflect the cost to a lender of fixing its funding for a set term. Swap rates move with yields on UK government bonds. When yields on gilts rise, swap rates follow, and fixed mortgage pricing follows them. That chain is the mechanism behind the repricing seen through September. Rachel Springall said the past few weeks have seen pricing margins among major lenders come under immediate pressure from renewed swap rate volatility. The bond market moves themselves are not attributed here to any single cause.

Moneyfacts said several of the largest lenders made repeated fixed rate increases during September. Barclays increased selected fixed rates four times during September. HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and TSB each made three rounds of increases during September. That pattern of repeated repricing within a single month is what turns a gradual drift in funding costs into a visible jump in the rates on sale, and it explains why the count of sub-5 per cent products can fall so far so quickly. Each round of increases removes some products from below a threshold and pushes others above it.

The result is a market where the average five-year fixed rate sits at 6.00 per cent, the highest since 27 September 2023, and the average two-year fixed rate sits at 5.98 per cent, the highest since December 2023. Both figures come from Moneyfacts and both describe products on sale, not the terms any individual will be offered. The direction of travel through September was upward, and the pricing decisions were concentrated among the largest lenders.

What it means if your fixed deal is ending

If you are coming off a deal that was fixed when rates were far lower, the step up in monthly cost depends on the rate you are leaving and the rate available to you now. The size of that step varies widely. A borrower leaving a rate fixed several years ago faces a larger change than one leaving a more recent deal. The relevant comparison is between your current rate and the rate you can actually obtain, which depends on loan to value, income, credit profile, property type and the fee attached to the product, not on the market average.

Many lenders allow a borrower to reserve a new rate in advance of an existing deal ending, commonly between three and six months. A reserved rate can usually be swapped if pricing improves before completion, though terms vary by lender. That means the decision is not necessarily final at the point of reservation, but the mechanics differ between lenders and you should check the specific terms. Anyone unsure should take regulated mortgage advice. The Financial Conduct Authority regulates residential mortgage lending and advice in the UK, and its website sets out how to check that a firm or adviser is authorised.

Lenders are required to treat customers in payment difficulty fairly. If you are struggling, contact your lender early rather than miss a payment. MoneyHelper provides free and impartial money guidance backed by government, and it covers mortgage arrears and the options available. The Bank of England sets and publishes the official Bank Rate, which is separate from the fixed rates described here but informs the wider cost of borrowing over time.

How to read a rate like this

An average rate is a snapshot of products on sale on one day. It is not a forecast and not a quote. It can move again within days, as it has repeatedly through September. The average five-year fixed rate was 5.98 per cent on Friday 2 October 2026 and 6.00 per cent on Monday 5 October 2026, a change that took a weekend. Treat any single figure as a reading of the market at a moment, not as a description of what will be available when your own deal ends or your purchase completes.

The rate you are offered depends on loan to value, income, credit profile, property type and the fee attached to the product. A lower headline rate with a large arrangement fee can cost more overall than a higher rate without one, particularly if you expect to move or remortgage before the fee is recovered. Comparing products means comparing the total cost over the period you expect to hold the deal, not just the rate. An average mortgage rate is a measure of products on sale across the market and is not a quotation for any individual borrower.

For free and impartial guidance, MoneyHelper is backed by government and covers mortgages, remortgaging and affordability. For the official Bank Rate, the Bank of England publishes the rate and the dates of its decisions. The Financial Conduct Authority regulates residential mortgage lending and advice in the UK, and its register allows you to check whether a firm or adviser is authorised. These sources describe the framework. They do not tell you what to do, and no figure in this article is a prediction of where rates go next.

Source: Moneyfacts.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the average five-year fixed mortgage rate?

Moneyfacts reported that the average five-year fixed residential mortgage rate reached 6.00 per cent on Monday 5 October 2026. That is the highest level since 27 September 2023, when the average stood at 6.03 per cent. The same average was 5.98 per cent on Friday 2 October 2026. This is a market average across products and lenders, not a quotation for any individual borrower.

How many fixed mortgage deals are priced below 5 per cent?

Moneyfacts counted nine fixed-rate mortgage deals priced below 5 per cent on Monday morning, down from 1,494 at the start of September 2026. Including products available to borrowers in Northern Ireland only, Moneyfacts counted 107 fixed-rate mortgage deals priced below 5 per cent, compared with 1,691 at the start of September 2026.

Why are fixed mortgage rates rising?

Fixed mortgage pricing is influenced by swap rates, which reflect the cost to a lender of fixing its funding for a set term. Swap rates move with yields on UK government bonds. Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said the past few weeks have seen pricing margins among major lenders come under immediate pressure from renewed swap rate volatility. Moneyfacts said several of the largest lenders made repeated fixed rate increases during September.

Which lenders increased rates in September 2026?

Moneyfacts said Barclays increased selected fixed rates four times during September. HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and TSB each made three rounds of increases during September.

Can a new rate be reserved before a current deal ends?

Many lenders allow a borrower to reserve a new rate in advance of an existing deal ending, commonly between three and six months. A reserved rate can usually be swapped if pricing improves before completion, though terms vary by lender. Anyone unsure should take regulated mortgage advice.