Nationwide is to let first-time buyers borrow up to six times their earnings, while also cutting mortgage rates by up to 0.31 per cent.
Effective from today (September 24), the building society will be cutting rates across its range including its products for first-time buyers.
It detailed that its five-year fixed rate at 95 per cent LTV with a £999 fee has been reduced by 0.05 percentage points to 4.99 per cent and its 10-year fixed rate at 75 per cent LTV with no fee has been reduced by 0.31 percentage points to 4.69 per cent.
Similarly, the five-year fixed rate at 90 per cent LTV with a £999 fee has been reduced by 0.1 percentage points to 4.49 per cent and the three-year fixed rate at 90 per cent LTV with a £999 fee has been reduced to 4.99 per cent.
Yellow Brick Mortgages managing director, Stephen Perkins, said: “Nationwide have just lit a beacon for borrowers that will cut through the doom and gloom.
“This is a huge statement from Nationwide both in terms of the rate reductions in spite of the Bank of England holding the base rate steady and increasing the maximum loan to income ratio.
“This will open up additional borrowing for thousands of borrowers, allowing them to secure their dream home or even skip a step or two on the housing ladder.”
Additionally, Nationwide also announced that it will extend its Helping Hand to become the first major lender to offer first-time buyers the ability to borrow six times income up to 95 per cent Loan-to-Value.
PFG Mortgages managing director, Tony Castle, said: “This is a seriously big helping hand for first-time buyers.
“Up to six times income multiples is another great step from Nationwide and will inevitably help those looking at buying a dream home that may be a little out of reach.
“With banks and building societies increasingly trying to compete with better rates, niche products like Helping Hand will certainly make the mortgage market more appealing to first-time buyers.”
The reductions also affected Nationwide’s existing customers, with the bank’s existing customers moving home and remortgage ranges also experiencing reductions.
The existing customer moving home range experienced reductions of up to 0.29 percentage points across two, three, five, and ten-year fixed rate products up to 95 per cent LTV.
Nationwide stated these changes reflect how the bank continues to offer existing customers who are moving home the same or lower rate than the equivalent rates available for new customers.
Meanwhile, reductions of up to 0.27 percentage points across two, three, and five-year products up to 95 per cent LTV were announced for the remortgaging range.
Nationwide is also reducing selected two, three, five-year, and 10-year switcher rates at up to 95 per cent LTV by up to 0.26 percentage points with rates starting from 3.79 per cent.
These latest changes also continue Nationwide’s existing mortgage member pricing pledge, meaning the switcher product rates will be the same or lower than the remortgage equivalents.
