The exit memo still quotes last week’s average as if every take-out got cheaper. It did not.

The 13 November Moneyfacts watch trims the average two-year fix by three basis points and the five-year by four. That is a softer shelf temperature. It is not a named offer on your file.

A bridging loan repays when the exit funds. It does not repay because the weekly cut list looked busy.

A three-basis-point average cut is not a new take-out

Mortgage Strategy’s write-up of the Moneyfacts rate watch lands on 13 November. The average two-year fixed rate falls from 5.96% last week to 5.93%. The five-year falls from 5.99% to 5.95%. Rachel Springall at Moneyfacts says fixed cuts pulled those averages down while lenders also lifted trackers and standard variable rates after the base-rate rise, and that it is uncertain whether significant fixed cuts can be sustained.

Hold the arithmetic.

Three basis points on a blended average is not a 40-basis-point cut on the product your client needs. Credit prices the letter that clears ICR, LTV and offer expiry on this security. A weekly average is the weather. The term sheet is the exit.

Our 23 October Moneyfacts note had the five-year average at 6% and the two-year at 5.97%. Friday’s print is a touch softer on both. That does not rewind the climb since mid-September, when our fixed-shelf note still had widely quoted fixes nearer 5.39%. Do not paste a September indicative into a November committee pack and call the three-basis-point tick a rescue.

We fund short commercial facilities for professional landlords, investors and corporate SPVs. Owner-occupier main-home borrowing sits outside the book. Published pricing still starts at 1.25% a month, with a 2% entry fee and a 1.5% exit fee. Loan to value can run to 85%. Tickets run from £10,000 to £10,000,000+ and the term can run to 16 months. A softer retail average does not stretch those card numbers. It can still change whether a refinance Plan A clears.

Named fixes fell while trackers and revert rates rose

The interesting line this week is the split. Selected fixed products moved down. Tracker and revert pricing moved up with Bank Rate.

Mortgage Solutions reported on 10 November that Barclays cut selected two- and five-year residential fixes by up to 40 basis points. The largest remortgage cut cited there takes an 85% LTV five-year product from 5.74% to 5.34% with a £999 fee. A 75% LTV five-year line falls by 28 basis points to 5.14%. Purchase two-year fixes at 85% LTV fall by up to 21 basis points, starting from 5.29% with an £899 fee. Gen H cut selected fixes by up to 30 basis points in the same round-up.

Mortgage Strategy followed on 11 November as Santander, NatWest, Nottingham Building Society, Fleet Mortgages and Molo joined. NatWest cuts selected residential and buy-to-let lines by up to 20 basis points from 12 November, though one two-year buy-to-let purchase product at 75% LTV with a £3,999 fee rises by 43 basis points from 4.16% to 4.59%. Santander’s largest cited remortgage cut is 20 basis points on a two-year 60% LTV product with a £999 fee, from 5.12% to 4.92%. Nottingham trims selected rates by up to 22 basis points. Fleet cuts selected five-year lines at 75% LTV by 20 basis points. Molo cuts selected standard buy-to-let rates by up to 10 basis points.

Friday’s Moneyfacts list widens that fixed-cut set further. Progressive Building Society shows selected fixed cuts of up to 53 basis points. Yorkshire Building Society cuts selected fixes by up to 30 basis points. Coventry, Leeds, Precise, RBS, Saffron and Skipton also cut selected fixed lines. Darlington is on the other side, with selected fixed rises of up to 20 basis points. A cut list is not a book-wide reprice. Name the product that will actually fund.

Trackers tell a different story. Halifax, Lloyds, NatWest, NatWest Intermediary Solutions, Nationwide, Principality, RBS, Skipton, Co-operative Bank for Intermediary Solutions and TSB each lift trackers by 25 basis points on the Moneyfacts watch. That matches the quarter-point rise in Bank Rate. Several standard revert rates also rise by 25 basis points, including Halifax and Lloyds to 7.49%, NatWest and RBS to 6.99%, Nationwide to 6.74% and Aldermore to 8.63%. Barclays moves both ways on trackers in the same week, with a Premier tracker up 13 basis points and another tracker down 14.

Our 5 November MPC note remains the Bank Rate source. The committee voted 8-1 for a rise to 4%. The Monetary Policy Report put inflation on a path toward about 5% by mid-2027. The next decision is due on 17 December 2026. Lender product moves do not rewrite those minutes. They show how funding desks are still sorting fixed cards from tracker cards after the hike.

A refinance that assumed a tracker take-out is now paying the full 25 basis points. A refinance that assumed a soft five-year fix may find a named cut.

Stress the path on the letter. Do not average the two stories into one comforting headline.

Stress the exit that funds, not the weekly cut list

Start with the product the exit lender will write. Rate. Fee. Max LTV. ICR or affordability test. Offer expiry. Put those on page one.

If the broker is still shopping, say so and date the shortlist. Silence forces a harder haircut than an honest “still seeking” line.

Our September lenders-reprice note already covered how fast shelves move when funding costs jump. The failure mode is unchanged. The pack used a stale indicative. The named lender reissued. The bridge is performing. The take-out is not.

Keep the redemption statement pack ready so a refinance that does clear can complete without another week lost on charge discharge papers. Official copies, e-DS1 paperwork and the exact redemption figure still decide whether completion sticks. A pretty rate table does not discharge a charge.

Portfolio finance files with several take-outs need each line dated. One Barclays remortgage cut does not reprice every unit in a cross-collateral book. Apply the named product to the named title. Averaging a 60% LTV residential remortgage into a 75% buy-to-let unit hides the weak asset until monitoring splits the two.

Development finance take-outs that lean on end-buyer mortgages inherit the same shelf. A three-basis-point softer average does not rescue a residual built on spring rates. Recut peak debt against a live purchase or remortgage letter, not against Friday’s blended print.

Auction finance still turns on the 28-day clock for the purchase. The later exit, if it is a private-treaty sale to a mortgaged buyer or a refinance after works, inherits today’s fixed and tracker cards. Price that exit against a dated product. A busy catalogue is not proof that January remortgages clear at last month’s rate.

Sale exits still carry the soft sales outlook

Refinance is only one door. Plenty of bridges still plan to sell.

Our October RICS survey note had 12-month sales expectations at -17, the weakest reading since July 2023, with agreed sales at -24 and the price balance at -36. That print did not improve because Barclays cut a five-year remortgage line. A sale diary that still assumes a quick spring exchange needs current comps, days on market and a Plan B price.

The Lloyds October house-price index recorded a 0.6% monthly fall to £296,285 and a 1.2% annual fall, with Greater London down 3.1% on that series. A softer national average fix does not reverse a southern price print. Put the postcode in the memo before you treat Friday’s Moneyfacts tick as buyer demand.

Our sale-exit evidence pack already wants a diary and a second route. Fill both before committee. If Plan A is a sale and Plan B is a refinance, stress the refinance at today’s named rate and the sale at today’s local absorption, not at a blended hope that both markets improve together.

Sixteen months is a maximum on the rate card. It is not a promise that December demand arrives in time.

Interest still accrues. Buyers who wait for a cheaper fix that may not last pay for the wait.

Brokers who want a fresh view before papers go in can use the decision in principle engine or speak to the broker desk. Bring the dated exit letter, the redemption figures and the sale diary. Do not bring only a screenshot of the weekly average.

Frequently asked questions

Did average fixed mortgage rates fall after the November Bank Rate rise?

Yes on the Moneyfacts averages printed on 13 November. The average two-year fix fell to 5.93% from 5.96%. The five-year fell to 5.95% from 5.99%. Those moves sit beside named lender cuts of up to 40 basis points at Barclays and up to 20 basis points at NatWest and Santander. They do not mean every product on every LTV band got cheaper.

Why did tracker mortgages rise while fixed averages eased?

Bank Rate rose to 4% on 5 November. Several high-street and building-society trackers moved up by the full 25 basis points on the same Moneyfacts watch that showed softer fixed averages. Standard revert rates also rose at a long list of lenders. Fixed cards and tracker cards are sorting differently after the hike. Stress the path on your letter.

Can a specialist bridge rely on this week’s fixed cuts for the exit?

Only where a named lender has issued a live product that clears ICR, LTV and offer expiry on the security. A weekly average cut of three or four basis points is not an offer. Pack the product code, the fee, the max LTV and the expiry. Keep redemption papers ready so completion does not stall once the take-out funds.

Does a softer fixed shelf help sale-led bridges?

It can help a buyer who needs a mortgage, if that buyer can still secure a named deal. It does not repair soft sales sentiment on its own. The October RICS survey still shows a weak 12-month sales outlook. Price the sale against local comps and a real diary, and keep a refinance Plan B that works at today’s rates.

What should brokers send with a refinance-led bridge this week?

A dated AIP or offer, the stress rate the exit lender will use, fees, max LTV, offer expiry, current redemption statements and official copies. If the exit is still being shopped, say so and date the shortlist. If Plan B is a sale, attach the diary. The weekly Moneyfacts cut list is context. It is not the pack.