Average two-year fix rises to 5.93% as mortgage deals stay on sale for only 13 days, Moneyfacts finds

Moneyfacts' UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report, published on 19 October, puts the average two-year fixed rate at 5.93% and the five-year at 5.95% at the start of October, up from 5.59% and 5.63% a month earlier, while the average deal stayed on sale for 13 days. Lenders have been repeatedly repricing or withdrawing products as swap rates, the wholesale rates that underpin fixed mortgages, react to each escalation or easing in the Middle East conflict. For buyers, a quoted rate can vanish before an application goes in, so having a mortgage agreement in principle and acting quickly on a chosen product matters more than usual; for sellers, higher borrowing costs cap what buyers can stretch to, which strengthens the case for realistic pricing. Choice is not the constraint, with the product count up to 8,696 from 7,516, and these averages are a snapshot from the start of the month rather than a reading of where rates sit today.