MORTGAGE costs have hit their highest level in 15 years after average rates on two-year fixed deals passed the peak of the mini-Budget.

The average rate reached 6.66% on Tuesday, up from 6.63% on Monday.

When the market was sent plummeting in the wake of former PM Liz Truss’s mini-Budget, the two-year rate peaked at 6.65% in October.

Leaders have been withdrawing and re-pricing deals with 287 fewer residential mortgage products on Tuesday compared with Monday.

The average five-year fixed mortgage rate has increased to 6.17%.

The buy-to-let sector has been even more volatile with the fixed rate rising as high as 6.83% on Tuesday, according to financial information company Moneyfacts.

The news comes as wages increased at the joint-highest rate on record alongside fears that inflation will continue to rise.

The Office for National Statistics has also said that the UK unemployment rate jumped to 4% for the three months to May, from 3.8% in the previous three-month period.

Economists had predicted a reading of 3.8% for the last quarter.  

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Responding to the news, the SNP’s housing spokesperson Chris Stephens said: "The Tories and pro-Brexit Labour have trashed the UK's economy, leaving hard working families right across these isles struggling to make it through the month. 

"Housing is a basic fundamental right, but due to continued Westminster control, the likelihood of owning your own home is now nothing more than a distant dream for millions of people.

"It's high-time the UK government take action on what is now a monumental housing crisis.

"No homeowner or renter should be at risk of losing their home or falling into debt through the fault of more Westminster economic mismanagement. 

"However, only by voting SNP at the next general election will voters be offered real alternative through independence - ridding Scotland of Westminster control once and for all."

Meanwhile, SNP MP Douglas Chapman, who sits on the Treasury Select Committee, added that the rising rates would only “worry people further”.

He continued: "Research this month from Citizens Advice Scotland reveals that around 11% of people always run out of money before payday, with a further 14% saying that this happens to them 'most of the time'.

"This percentage will surely rise given today’s Committee panelists' discussing averages of £235 increases on monthly mortgage repayments due to large interest rises and deals coming to an end, which on top of a crippling cost of living crisis, consistently high energy prices and rampant inflation explains why many people feel their financial resilience is being pushed to the limit.

“In addition, there was little encouragement for first time buyers today, who it appears need to spend longer amassing a larger deposit or tap into the bank of mum and dad - which isn’t an option for everyone - and then also choose from a narrower portfolio of smaller properties in order to meet monthly mortgage payments and pass banks' affordability stress tests.”