Almost 500 homeowner mortgage products have been abruptly pulled from the market in just two days, marking the most rapid contraction since the tumultuous period following the 2022 mini-budget.
The sudden withdrawals coincide with average mortgage rates soaring past the 5 per cent threshold, as lenders swiftly adjust their offerings.
Financial information website Moneyfactscompare.co.uk reported on Wednesday morning that 472 residential mortgage products had been removed within the last 48 hours.
This represents approximately 6.5 per cent of the total market, leaving 7,164 deals still available for prospective buyers.
The current reduction in available mortgage options is the most significant recorded since September 2022, when the mini-budget triggered widespread market instability.
For comparison, Moneyfacts noted that the largest single-day drop for residential mortgages occurred on 27 September 2022, when 935 products – over a quarter of the deals then available – were withdrawn.
Average mortgage rates on the market are now at levels not seen since last summer.
The average two-year fixed homeowner mortgage rate on Wednesday morning was 5.01 per cent. This is up from 4.84 per cent on Friday last week and the highest level since it was also 5.01 per cent on August 6, 2025.
The average five-year fixed homeowner mortgage rate on Wednesday morning was 5.09 per cent. This is up from 4.96 per cent on Friday last week and the highest level since it was 5.09 per cent on June 26, 2025.
The overall average Moneyfacts mortgage rate opened on Wednesday morning at 5.04 per cent. This is up from 4.91 per cent on Friday last week and the highest level since August 7 2025, when it was also 5.04 per cent.
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Adam French, head of consumer finance at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, said: “Recent days have been some of the most turbulent in the UK mortgage market since the aftermath of the September 2022 mini-budget.
“In the last 48 hours, almost 500 residential mortgage products have been withdrawn as lenders reacted to rapidly rising swap rates. However, the scale is nowhere near the shock seen in late September 2022 when 935 products, which accounted for more than a quarter of the market at the time, disappeared in a single day.
“Many of these deals are likely to return within the next few days and weeks as lenders adjust their pricing to higher rate expectations.
“Moneyfacts average mortgage rates have also jumped considerably higher, with the typical two-year fixed rate now at 5.01 per cent for the first time since August 2025 and the average five-year fix surging past 5 per cent to reach 5.09 per cent.
“It’s unwelcome news for borrowers, as the prospect of falling mortgage rates has quickly given way to rate rises. How far they could go is now heavily dependent on how global markets and inflation expectations evolve as conflict in the Middle East unfolds.”
