Mortgage Rate Cuts: Which Lenders Are Easing in August 2026

Lenders are cutting mortgage rates again. Nationwide, Barclays, Coventry Building Society and a run of specialist lenders repriced fixed deals lower in the opening days of August 2026, the second easing wave since late June. This page names who has moved, by how much, and what the shift means if your own deal is ending. Mortgage One is a whole of market mortgage adviser arranging mortgages for buyers, remortgagers and landlords as lenders reprice through the current easing cycle.

If your fixed deal ends within the next six months and you want to know whether this month's cuts reach your loan size and deposit band, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.

The lenders cutting mortgage rates in August 2026

In the week ending 7 August 2026, Nationwide cut fixed rates by up to 0.19 percentage points, Barclays by up to 0.50, Coventry Building Society by up to 0.15 and Virgin Money by up to 0.08, with Accord, Gen H, Keystone and Rely also easing across their fixed ranges.

The Nationwide cuts run across two, three and five year fixed products for purchase and remortgage. Its two year fix for first-time buyers at 60% loan to value (LTV) now prices at 4.52% with a £1,499 fee, and its five year remortgage fix at 75% LTV at 4.81% with a £999 fee, with remortgage reductions reaching up to 0.13 percentage points.

Barclays made the largest single move of the week, with reductions of up to 0.50 percentage points across residential purchase, remortgage and Green Home products. Its three year fee-free remortgage fix at 60% LTV now prices at 4.88%, and its ten year fix at the same band at 5.12% with a £999 fee. Gen H cut 85% LTV rates by 0.40 percentage points, and Rely reduced one, two and five year fixed products by up to 0.25.

Repricing on this scale, week after week, means published rate tables date quickly. A deal that led its band on Monday can be withdrawn or beaten by Friday, which is why the lender-by-lender detail matters more than any single headline rate.

Why are lenders cutting rates when the base rate is on hold?

Fixed mortgage rates are priced from swap rates, the wholesale rates at which lenders hedge fixed term lending, rather than from the base rate itself. The Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75% on 30 July 2026, yet swap pricing has eased since mid-July, giving lenders room to cut fixed deals anyway.

The 30 July hold was the fifth of 2026 and came on a 6-3 vote, with three committee members preferring a rise to 4%. The next announcement is due on 17 September 2026. That is not a backdrop of imminent base rate cuts, which is exactly the point. Fixed pricing moves on funding costs and competition, not on the announcement calendar. Our analysis of the 30 July Bank of England rate decision covers the vote and what it signals.

The gap between what lenders pay for fixed term funding and what they charge borrowers is where the easing is happening. Our swap rates and lender margin chart shows how that pass-through has landed in past cycles, and our Bank of England base rate forecast tracks where markets expect the base rate itself to head. When funding costs drift lower and lending targets for the year remain unfilled, cutting fixed rates is the lever lenders reach for first.

Is a mortgage price war building among UK lenders?

The August moves extend a pattern that began in early summer. Nationwide announced cuts of up to 0.25 percentage points on 25 June 2026, taking its lowest fixed rate to 4.19%, and HSBC, First Direct, Yorkshire Building Society, Skipton and West Brom repriced in the same window before the August round followed.

Henry Jordan, Nationwide's group director of mortgages, said the society was “delighted to be making another set of rate cuts this month” when the June round landed, language that points to a repeating programme rather than a one-off adjustment.

Nicholas Mendes, mortgage technical manager at broker John Charcol, said at the time that “another round of cuts from Nationwide tells you more about the direction of travel than any single rate does”, describing the society's broad-based cuts as those of a lender competing for volume.

Price war is a strong label for what remains selective repricing, and July showed how quickly the direction can flip when swap rates jump. For borrowers the practical consequence is the same either way. Pricing is being contested weekly, and the lender that fits your case this month may not be the one that fitted it in June.

Halifax and Virgin Money moved against the easing trend

Not every lender is easing. In the same first week of August, Halifax raised fixed rates for home movers and first-time buyers by up to 0.12 percentage points and remortgage rates by up to 0.05, while Virgin Money lifted its buy to let (BTL) product transfer fixed rates by up to 0.15.

Halifax and Santander had already edged selected fixed rates higher in late July, so two-way traffic is not new. Lenders price to their own funding position, service capacity and volume targets, and a bank running ahead of its lending plan for the year has little reason to chase the market down.

This is the strongest argument against choosing a lender on reputation or habit. In a week where Barclays cut by up to 0.50 percentage points and Halifax moved up, the gap between the two on an identical case widened materially. A whole of market mortgage broker reads that spread daily and places each case where the pricing actually is.

For a free initial consultation on which lenders are still easing for your deposit band and loan size, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.

What the cuts mean if your fixed deal ends in the next six months

Most lenders let you reserve a new deal up to six months before your current one ends and switch to a lower rate if pricing improves before completion. With average two year fixed rates at 5.63% in August 2026 and lenders repricing weekly, reserving early and reviewing often captures the cuts without gambling on them.

Moneyfacts puts the average two year fixed rate at 5.63% and the average five year at 5.67% in August 2026, so the market remains above where it started the year even after two easing waves. The lowest advertised rates sit well below those averages at lower LTV bands, which is why our chart of average fixed rates by LTV band is a better guide than any single headline figure, and why it pays to compare current 2 year and 5 year fixed deals against your own band rather than the market average.

The mechanics favour acting early. A reservation holds your position if pricing turns, and the switch-down option collects any further cuts that land before completion. Our remortgaging guide weighs switching lender against staying put on total cost, and our product transfer guide covers the retention route with your current lender. Doing nothing is the one approach with a defined cost, because a lapsed deal reverts to the standard variable rate (SVR), and where the SVR sits today against new fixed pricing makes that an expensive default.

Buy-to-let and specialist pricing is easing as well

The easing extends beyond residential lending. Accord cut BTL fixed rates at 80% LTV by 0.10 percentage points, Coventry trimmed its BTL range by up to 0.08, and Keystone Property Finance reduced nearly its whole range by 0.10, with expat products now starting at 4.99% at 65% LTV.

For landlords, a lower pay rate does double work, because the rate offered also feeds the rental cover calculation most BTL lenders apply, so easing pricing can turn a case that failed in spring into one that now fits. Our chart of buy-to-let mortgage rates tracks how landlord pricing sits against the wider market. For expats and other specialist cases the moves matter even more, because the pool of willing lenders is smaller and each reprice meaningfully changes what can be placed.

Figures as of 11 August 2026, London.

To have the whole of market checked before you commit to a rate you reserved earlier in the summer, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.

Back to Rate Forecast and Economic Drivers

The information provided in this article is for general guidance only and does not constitute personal or regulated financial advice. If you'd like to understand what these moves could mean for you, speak to Mortgage One. We can explain your options and timings based on your specific circumstances.

FAQs

1. Which lenders have cut mortgage rates in August 2026?

Nationwide, Barclays, Coventry Building Society, Virgin Money, Accord, Gen H, Keystone Property Finance and Rely all reduced fixed rates in the opening week of August 2026. The size of each cut varies by product and LTV band, and lenders reprice frequently, so the picture changes week to week.

2. Why are mortgage rates falling when the Bank of England has not cut?

Fixed mortgage deals are priced from swap rates, which reflect where markets expect interest rates to head, not from the current base rate. When swap rates ease and lenders compete for lending volume, fixed rates fall even while the base rate is held. The reverse also happens, as the July repricing showed.

3. Are mortgage rates coming down for the rest of 2026?

No one can say with certainty. Market pricing currently points to the base rate holding or rising rather than falling, yet fixed rates have still eased because swap rates and lender competition drive fixed pricing. Selective cuts can continue in that environment, and so can sudden reversals, which is why timing decisions belong to your deal dates rather than to forecasts.

4. Will mortgage rates ever go back to 3% again?

Market expectations currently point to rates settling rather than returning to the lows of the 2010s. The lowest advertised deals already price well below the market averages, and for most borrowers the rate available for their own deposit band and circumstances matters more than where headline averages head next.

5. Should I fix for two years or five years while rates are falling?

A two year fix returns you to the market sooner if you expect pricing to keep improving, while a five year fix locks in longer certainty at the risk of watching rates fall further after you commit. Fee structures, early repayment charges and your own plans usually decide it, and modelling both against your loan size is more useful than guessing the cycle.

6. Can I get a lower rate than the deal I have already reserved?

Often, yes. Most lenders allow a switch to a lower rate between reserving a deal and completing on it, so a cut landing after you reserve is not lost. Someone has to be watching for it, though. A broker monitoring repricing can move a reserved case down when a lender cuts, which is one of the quiet advantages of not going direct.

7. Do lender rate cuts apply to product transfers as well as new deals?

Retention pricing usually moves too, but not always as far or as fast as new business rates. A lender competing for new borrowers will sometimes cut new business pricing while leaving product transfer rates untouched, which is why comparing both routes each time, rather than assuming the transfer is fine, protects you from paying for loyalty.