Headlines this week reported that the average five-year fixed mortgage rate has reached 6% for the first time in three years. The figure is accurate. It is an average of the five-year fixed deals on the market, and the lowest five-year fixed rates are around a percentage point below it.

This guide covers what the 6% figure measures, how lenders price a fixed rate, why rates have risen since September and what decides the rate you are offered. Figures are correct at 9 October 2026.

Are five-year fixed rates really over 6%?

The market average is 6%. On Monday 5 October 2026, Moneyfacts reported that the average five-year fixed residential mortgage rate had reached 6.00%, up from 5.98% the previous Friday. That is its highest level since 27 September 2023. The average two-year fixed rate was 5.98%.

The lowest rates are around 5%. On 9 October 2026, the lowest five-year fixed rates on the market were 4.82% for a house purchase and 5.06% for a remortgage. Both were for borrowers with a deposit or equity of at least 40%, and both carried a product fee of around £1,000.

There are far fewer deals below 5%. Moneyfacts counted 1,494 fixed rate deals priced below 5% at the start of September. On 5 October there were nine.

Fixed rates have risen. The 6% figure is the average of what is on sale. It is not the rate every borrower is offered.

What the 6% average measures

Deals on sale, not mortgages taken out. The figure is the average rate across the five-year fixed deals that lenders have on the market. It is not a measure of what borrowers are paying.

Every deposit size. The average covers all loan-to-value bands, from deals for borrowers with a 5% deposit to deals for borrowers with 40% or more.

An average at every level. Moneyfacts also publishes averages by deposit size. In its July 2026 report, the average five-year fixed rate was 5.23% at 60% loan to value and 5.92% at 95% loan to value, against 5.52% across all deposit sizes. Each of those is itself an average of every lender's deals at that level, so the lowest rates sit below it.

What borrowers actually paid. The Bank of England publishes the average interest rate paid on newly drawn mortgages. For August 2026, the latest month available, it was 4.60%. That figure covers all types of mortgage and includes deals agreed before the September increases, so it trails the market.

Two different 6% figures have been in the news

On Thursday 1 October 2026, the yield on 30-year UK government bonds, known as gilts, rose above 6% for the first time since 1998. Four days later, the Moneyfacts average for five-year fixed mortgages reached 6.00%.

The two figures measure different things.

The gilt yield is the interest rate the government pays to borrow, in this case over 30 years.

The mortgage average is the average rate on five-year fixed mortgage deals for homeowners.

They are linked. Moneyfacts attributed the mortgage rate increases to lenders' wholesale funding costs rising on the back of higher gilt yields. A five-year fixed mortgage is not priced from the 30-year gilt yield.

How lenders price a five-year fix

Swap rates. A lender offering a rate fixed for five years needs to fix its own cost of funds for the same period. It does that in the swap market. The five-year swap rate reflects where financial markets expect interest rates to be, on average, over the next five years.

Gilt yields. Swap rates and gilt yields respond to many of the same things, including expectations for inflation and interest rates. When gilt yields rise, swap rates generally rise with them.

The lender's margin. On top of the swap rate, the lender adds its running costs, an allowance for the risk of the loan and its profit margin. Competition between lenders affects the size of that margin.

The Bank of England base rate. The base rate is 3.75%. It was held at that level on 17 September 2026 and has not changed since December 2025. Fixed rates have risen without any change in the base rate, because swap rates move on what markets expect to happen next.

Our guide to how UK mortgages are priced covers this in more detail.

Why fixed rates have risen since September

Inflation has gone up. CPI inflation rose to 3.1% in August 2026, from 2.9% in July. The Bank of England's target is 2%.

Markets expect the base rate to rise. Three of the nine members of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted in September to raise the base rate to 4%. The Bank said rates may need to rise if the conflict in the Middle East continues and higher energy prices keep inflation up. We set out that chain of events in our post on why the war in the Middle East pushed up mortgage rates.

Lenders have repriced repeatedly. Moneyfacts reported that during September Barclays increased selected fixed rates four times, and HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and TSB three times each.

Two dates are coming up. The Autumn Budget is on 28 October 2026 and the next base rate decision is on 5 November 2026. Both can move gilt yields and swap rates, in either direction.

What decides the rate you are offered

Your deposit or equity. Lenders price in loan-to-value bands. The lowest rates are typically at 60% loan to value, with higher rates at each band above it, up to 95%.

Purchase or remortgage. Lenders price the two separately. On 9 October the lowest five-year fix was 4.82% for a purchase and 5.06% for a remortgage.

The product fee. The lowest rates usually carry a fee of around £1,000. On a smaller mortgage, a slightly higher rate with no fee can cost less overall.

Your credit history and income. A history of missed payments or defaults, or income that is harder for a lender to assess, such as self-employed or contractor income, can limit which lenders will consider an application. Our adverse credit page covers the first of those.

The property. Non-standard construction or an unusual property can narrow the choice of lenders or carry a higher rate.

You can check live mortgage rates for your own deposit and property value. It takes five questions and there is no credit check.

Why advice matters when rates are moving

The average is not your rate. The figure that matters is the rate available for your deposit, your income and your property, from the lenders who will accept your application.

Deals are being withdrawn. Almost 1,500 fixed rate deals priced below 5% left the market in five weeks.

A new rate can be secured up to six months early. If your current deal ends within six months, most lenders allow a new rate to be secured now, to start when the current deal ends. We can often secure a rate early and then resubmit the case nearer the completion date if rates have fallen.

Your current lender's offer is one option. A product transfer with your existing lender can be quick to arrange. We compare it with remortgage rates across the whole market before you commit.

The lowest rate is not always the lowest cost. We compare the total cost over the fixed period, including fees and any early repayment charge on your current deal.

For more on timing, read should I fix my mortgage now or wait for rates to come down?

Your questions answered

Is the Bank of England base rate 6%?

No. The base rate is 3.75%. The 6% in the mortgage headlines is the average five-year fixed mortgage rate reported by Moneyfacts. The other 6% figure in the news, the 30-year gilt yield, is the government's cost of borrowing.

I am on a fixed rate now. Will my payments go up?

Not during the fixed period. Your rate and payment stay the same until the deal ends. Today's rates apply to you once you choose a new deal, which most lenders allow up to six months before the current one ends.

Is a two-year fix cheaper than a five-year fix at the moment?

On average they are almost the same. On 5 October 2026 the Moneyfacts averages were 5.98% for a two-year fix and 6.00% for a five-year fix. The comparison between individual deals depends on the lender, the deposit and the fee.

Will five-year fixed rates keep rising?

Nobody can say. Fixed rates follow swap rates, which move daily. In early October some lenders increased fixed rates while others cut them.

See the rates available to you

The 6% headline is an average. Check live mortgage rates for your own deposit and property value, or contact us to speak to one of our advisers about a purchase or a remortgage.