![\"Kirstie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3100022-scaled-1.webp.jpeg\")
\t\tMortgage lenders have axed deals since the Iran war broke out\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tMonday 13 April 2026 10:10 am\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tMortgage lenders have axed deals since the Iran war broke out\t<\/p>\n
Borrowers have been left in a \u201cmortgage maze\u201d after lenders frantically pulled deals due to the unfolding crisis in the Middle East<\/a> leading to the lowest average shelf-life on record.<\/p>\n The average mortgage was on the market for just eight days in March \u2013 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u2013 when markets were on edge as tax speculation ran rife ahead of the Autumn Budget.<\/p>\n The current pool of 6,201 options stands at the lowest count in two years.<\/p>\n \u201cThe unrest in the Middle East caused mortgage mayhem, with lenders rushing to pull products from sale and reprice at higher rates throughout March,\u201d said Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts.<\/p>\n \u201cThe start of 2026 appeared promising, especially for borrowers about to remortgage, but it\u2019s 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\u00a0mortgage\u00a0rate hikes.\u201d<\/p>\n She added \u201csurrounding the possibility of inflation getting out of control\u201d had flipped the projected interest rate pathway leaving borrowers to \u201cnavigate the mortgage maze\u201d.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tMortgage approvals fall to two-year low\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \tSurging mortgage rates sour market<\/p>\n 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\u00a0Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors<\/a>\u00a0(RICS). <\/p>\n Experts pointed to rising mortgage rates after a fleet of lenders kicked up their rates.<\/a><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Since then, hopes of a rate cut have cooled for the year. The Bank declared a hawkish hold<\/a> in March with a unanimous decision amid fears of a jump in inflation.<\/p>\n Rate-setters at the Bank suggested that households and businesses remained highly \u201csensitive\u201d to inflationary shocks, which could feed through more pessimistic expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n