As market volatility persists, borrowers are being warned that mortgage rates are likely to increase further.
Broker London & Country's David Hollingworth predicted that this week "is going to bring more of the same," as lenders have been pulling out of deals and raising rates at a "relentless pace.".
In the past month, mortgage rates increased by about 0.5 percentage points, approaching the 6 percent average fixed rate.
It happens at a time when 1.5 million households are expected to leave fixed deals this year.
Rates have risen as a result of recent data showing that UK inflation is not declining as quickly as anticipated.
The Bank of England is expected to increase interest rates from their current level of 4.5 percent to as high as 5.5 percent, which is higher than previously anticipated.
It directly affects lenders, many of whom increased rates and pulled deals off the market in the previous month.
However, on Friday, HSBC temporarily reopened those offers after becoming the most recent major lender to halt new deals sold through brokers last week. .
It has been fairly relentless for the last couple of weeks, Mr. Hollingworth said on the Today program on BBC Radio 4. We have returned to the time when waiting is not an option if you are considering a fixed rate. " .
According to him, the market was shifting around lenders, forcing them to reprioritize deals, and those who had lower-priced deals were confronted with a "tidal wave" of business.
"Unfortunately, I believe we may still have to witness more of that happening this week.
"But hopefully those rates will just start to level off and things will start to calm down soon. ".
Moneyfacts, a provider of financial data, estimates that the average rate for a two-year fixed-rate mortgage is 5 point 86 percent, while the average rate for a five-year deal is 5 point 51 percent.
They were 3.03 percent and 3.17 percent, respectively, in May of last year. As a result, many households have experienced sharp increases in their borrowing costs.
When a fixed term expires, a borrower automatically switches to the standard variable rate (SVR) set by their lender. Brokers, however, claim that these SVRs have skyrocketed, which means that anyone who chooses to wait and see would experience a significant increase in their rate and, consequently, their monthly mortgage payment.
The head of HSBC in the UK, Ian Stuart, acknowledged that many customers were going through a "deeply concerning" time.
"If you have an old rate, which many people do, let's say 10.5 percent, and you're going to switch to something like 5 percent, that will have a significant impact on your monthly budget. " .
According to him, the bank was unable to keep up with "unprecedented" demand last week and was forced to halt sales of new deals.
He added that HSBC anticipated that the market would be under more pressure as UK interest rates continued to rise.
Not the good news mortgage holders were hoping for, but I don't believe inflation will decline as quickly as we had anticipated.
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