Mortgage product fees have risen on average, says independent industry monitor Moneyfacts. 

At £1,129, the average fee currently charged on a fixed rate mortgage deal (not including no-fee products) has risen by £89 since March 2020. 

While this average fee has fallen by £11 since March 2024, it has been above £1,000 since July 2017.

The proportion of the market offering fixed rate mortgage deals that offer a free or refunded valuation incentive has risen to 73%, from 72% at the start of March 2020.

The proportion of the market offering fixed rate mortgage deals that offer a free or refunded legal fees incentive has fallen to 42%, from 49% at the start of March 2020.

The proportion of the market offering cashback has dropped by 9% since March 2020.

The monitor’s finance expert, Rachel Springall, says: “The best deal depends on someone’s circumstances and how much they need to borrow; someone with a larger debt would typically chase a lower rate, whereas those looking to avoid upfront costs would consider fee-free deals and incentives. 

“The lowest fixed mortgages on the market typically charge upfront fees of around £1,000, or even up to £2,000, so a mortgage with a slightly higher initial fixed rate and lower product fee could be a better choice.

“Deeper analysis of the availability of mortgage incentives shows a proportional decline in the quantity of deals that do not charge a product fee, down to 36% from 41% five years ago, but slightly higher from 35% in March 2024. 

“However, one incentive in continuous decline has been in the proportion of deals that pay cashback, as there are now less than a third of deals with this sweetener attached, across all fixed mortgages. 

“Borrowers coming off a fixed deal may have to face higher mortgage rates this year, but they can still find an abundance of deals with cost-saving incentives, and it’s still cheaper to refinance onto a fixed rate than reverting onto a Standard Variable Rate.”