Cashback deals are becoming more common

Currently 29% of deals have a cashback incentive, amounting to 1,459 products.

Cashback deals are becoming more common

A greater number and proportion of mortgages on the market are offering a cashback, research from Moneyfacts.co.uk shows.

Currently 29% of deals have a cashback incentive, amounting to 1,459 products.

Comparatively this stood at 28% and 1,315 in May 2018, and 26% and 1,249 in November 2017. Looking further back, in November 2016 just 22% of mortgages had cashback, totalling 948, while in November 2011 just 19% of products had cashback, amounting to 627.

Darren Cook, finance expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: “Buying a new home or remortgaging your existing deal can be an expensive process. An offer that contains cashback may help to soften the immediate costs that this process incurs.

“The current number of 1,459 products that are available with a cashback incentive is nearly two-and-a-half times greater than the number in November 2011, when it stood at 627. Additionally, these deals now make up 29% of the overall mortgage market, a marked increase from the 19% seen in 2011.

“First-time buyers may be encouraged to find that two-thirds of residential mortgage deals with a cashback incentive option require a deposit of up to 20%. This could make quite a difference upfront to those who have struggled to save a suitable deposit amount.”

A similar trend has occurred in buy-to-let in the past couple of years.

Today 19% of buy-to-let products have cashback, amounting to 444 products.

This stood at 17% in May 2018 at 339, 16% in November 2017 with 291 and 15% in November 2016 at 213.

Cook added: “Landlords will be looking for any way to cut costs and increase their margins. It seems that providers are obliging.

“The current number of products with a cashback incentive stands at 444, which is nearly double the number of products that were available two years ago.

"Furthermore, 266 of these products are available at the higher loan-to-value tiers of 70%, 75% and 80%, which could make them particularly appealing to first-time landlords."