Borrowers may need to “act quickly” as mortgage shelf-life plummets, Finance Expert warns

Any delay in securing a new deal could add hundreds of pounds to remortgage borrowers’ monthly repayments.

Borrowers nearing the end of their fixed term “would be wise to act quickly to secure a new deal”, warned Rachel Springall, Finance Expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, as the typical amount of time a mortgage spends on the market nosedived amid uncertainty over the future direction of interest rates.

The average shelf-life of a mortgage more than halved from 33 days to 14 days between the start of February and March 2026, according to the latest Moneyfacts UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report. This is its lowest shelf-life in over two years and two days off the shortest on record (at 12 days in July 2023).

With these figures recorded just as the US and Israel joined forces against Iran, it’s likely that the drop in mortgage shelf-life was fuelled by lenders withdrawing products in response to previous expectations for the Bank of England to lower the UK’s central interest rate (‘base rate’).

While a base rate cut later this week now seems off the cards, it could be that shelf-life continues to tumble as lenders react to ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the impact it’s having on economic forecasts. The past week alone has seen more than 600 mortgage products pulled from sale as lenders reconsider their pricing – the largest amount since the aftermath of the September 2022 mini-Budget and roughly equivalent to 10% of the overall market.

Delaying could prove costly

Despite the recent turmoil, Springall said remortgage borrowers shouldn’t delay refinancing “as they can still save a significant sum by moving off a Standard Variable Rate (SVR)”.

Although average fixed mortgage rates have returned above 5%, those who opt for a typical two-year deal (priced at 5.20% this morning) could still save almost £300 a month on their repayments compared to falling onto an average SVR (charging 7.13% at the start of March)^*.

“The outlook might look a bit bleak for borrowers right now, but as we have experienced before, a short-term spike in market volatility can heal and interest rates are still far lower than they were a couple of years ago,” reassured Springall.

However, she said that “seeking advice will be an essential step for borrowers to secure a competitive deal”.

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