‘Mortgage mayhem’: Deal lifespans hit record low as interest rate cut hopes dim
Borrowers have been left in a “mortgage maze” after lenders frantically pulled deals due to the unfolding crisis in the Middle East leading to the lowest average shelf-life on record.
The average mortgage was on the market for just eight days in March – the lowest since records began in November 2011. This marks a staggering drop from 14 days in February ahead of the conflict breaking out and massively undercuts the previous record of 12 days in July 2023.
It comes as the overall product choice on the market shrank by around 1,283, falling below 7,000 for the first time since November 2025 – when markets were on edge as tax speculation ran rife ahead of the Autumn Budget.
The current pool of 6,201 options stands at the lowest count in two years.
“The unrest in the Middle East caused mortgage mayhem, with lenders rushing to pull products from sale and reprice at higher rates throughout March,” said Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts.
“The start of 2026 appeared promising, especially for borrowers about to remortgage, but it’s all changed. The tide could turn once the markets feel more confident about future rate pricing, but borrowers who are due to come off a deal soon will be incredibly frustrated by mortgage rate hikes.”
She added “surrounding the possibility of inflation getting out of control” had flipped the projected interest rate pathway leaving borrowers to “navigate the mortgage maze”.
Surging mortgage rates sour market
The mood in the housing market has soured as a result of the war. The number of Brits enquiring to buy a new home fell to minus 39 per cent last month, down from negative 29 per cent in February, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Experts pointed to rising mortgage rates after a fleet of lenders kicked up their rates.
Volatility in prices has been driven by a re-pricing in swap rates, which serve as a primary benchmark for pricing fixed-rate mortgages and reflect market expectations for future interest rates over 2, 5, or 10-year terms.
The Bank of England was tipped to cut interest rates in the March meeting with markets pricing in chances of a reduction at 80 per cent ahead of the war in Iran breaking out at the end of February.
Since then, hopes of a rate cut have cooled for the year. The Bank declared a hawkish hold in March with a unanimous decision amid fears of a jump in inflation.
Rate-setters at the Bank suggested that households and businesses remained highly “sensitive” to inflationary shocks, which could feed through more pessimistic expectations.