Mortgage rates and remortgaging: Bank of England Money and Credit, September 2026

In short: the Bank of England’s monthly Money and Credit statistics for September 2026, published on 29 October, show the average rate on newly drawn mortgages at 4.63%, up from 4.60% in August. The average rate across all outstanding mortgages was 4.03%, up from 4.00%. Approvals for remortgaging with a different lender rose to 42,600 from 34,000. The gap between those two rates is a rough guide to the payment rise many borrowers face when an older, cheaper deal ends.

What the September figures show

• Rates on new mortgages: the effective rate (the interest actually paid) on newly drawn mortgages rose to 4.63% in September from 4.60% in August.
• Rates on existing mortgages: the effective rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages was 4.03%, up from 4.00%.
• Remortgage approvals: 42,600 in September, up from 34,000 in August, a rise of about 25%. The Bank notes that this series only captures remortgaging with a different lender.
• House purchase approvals: 53,400, down from 54,800 in August and below the previous six-month average of around 58,800.
• Net mortgage borrowing: £3.9 billion, down from £4.2 billion and below the six-month average of £4.9 billion. Annual growth in net mortgage lending slowed to 3.4% from 3.6%.
• Gross lending and repayments: secured gross lending was £24.2 billion and repayments were £21.4 billion.

Reading these numbers carefully

Two points stop these figures being over-read. First, the remortgage approvals count only covers moving to a different lender. A product transfer, where you take a new deal with your existing lender, is not in this series, so the figure is not a count of everyone whose deal ended. Our guide to product transfers explains how that route differs.

Second, the effective rates are averages across all mortgages in each group, whatever the loan-to-value, deal type or length. They are not a rate any one borrower will be offered. The site’s own EXAMPLE rates (4.19% current, 4.14% new lender, 4.39% product transfer) are labelled scenarios, and sit below the 4.63% average. Your rate depends on your loan-to-value, the lender’s criteria and the fees attached.

These figures sit alongside the Bank of England’s September rate decision, when Bank Rate was held at 3.75%. The minutes of that meeting noted that quoted two-year fixed mortgage rates were around 0.95 percentage points higher than before the conflict in the Middle East began. Outstanding mortgages include many fixed deals agreed before that rise.

What the gap means in pounds

Take the site’s shared EXAMPLE: a £185,000 repayment mortgage over 22 years. Using the two average rates purely as reference points, and the same maths as our repayment calculator:

So on this balance a move from the average existing rate to the average new rate adds about £61 a month. The month-on-month change in the new-lending rate, from 4.60% to 4.63%, is worth about £3 a month on the same loan (£1,115.38 to £1,118.46). The direction matters more than any single month’s figure.

Compare that with doing nothing when a deal ends. At the EXAMPLE standard variable rate of 7.49%, the payment on the same loan is £1,431.68 a month, £313.22 more than at 4.63%. The FCA notes that the rate a mortgage reverts to after a deal is often the lender’s SVR and is typically higher. Our guide to rolling onto the SVR works through that case.

What it means if you are remortgaging

• If your current deal was arranged when rates were lower, the averages suggest the next one may cost more each month. Running your own balance, term and quoted rate through the repayment calculator shows the change for you.
• A lower rate is only part of the comparison. Fees, any early repayment charge and cashback can change the answer. The true cost calculator adds them up over the same period.
• The rise in approvals shows more people moving lender in September. Staying with your lender through a product transfer is the other route and, as the FCA notes, a switch with the same lender does not usually need a new affordability check if you are up to date and not borrowing more.
• Savers saw higher rates too: the effective rate on new fixed-term deposits rose to 4.42% from 4.24%. If you are weighing overpaying against saving, the overpay vs remortgage calculator sets out the arithmetic, with tax and access to your money as separate questions.

What comes next

The next Money and Credit release, covering October, is due on 30 November 2026. Before that, the Bank of England announces its next Bank Rate decision on 5 November 2026; our preview of that decision sets out what each outcome would change. We will update this post if the September figures are revised.

Sources

• Bank of England, Money and Credit, September 2026 (published 29 October 2026; next release 30 November 2026): mortgage approvals, net and gross lending, effective mortgage and deposit rates.
• Bank of England, Monetary Policy Summary and minutes, September 2026: Bank Rate held at 3.75% and the change in quoted two-year fixed mortgage rates.
• FCA, support with mortgages and interest rates: reversion rates and affordability checks when switching with your existing lender.

Sources last checked 2 November 2026. EXAMPLE figures are illustrative scenarios, not quotes, forecasts or advice. Your lender’s documents and your own figures take priority.