The number of mortgages available for borrowers has risen by 34% since April 2012 when The Bank of England’s Funding for Lending scheme was announced, with fixed rate and tracker mortgage rates falling, according to research by MoneySupermarket.
The comparison site found the number of mortgages available for borrowers has increased from 2,458 to 3,288 products since April 2012, with the total number of products available at the highest levels since August 2011.
The number of 60% loan to value (LTV) products available has almost doubled (94% increase) from 285 to 553 over the last 12 months. Similarly, 80% LTV products have seen a 48% increase and 75% LTV mortgages have increased by 30%.
Rates on fixed mortgages have also decreased, with rates on two-year fixed mortgages falling from 4.21% in April 2012, to 3.28%, while rates on five-year fixed mortgages have also fallen from 4.67% to 3.84%.
Moneysupermarket said that although the fall in fixed rates is welcome, this is often being offset by the rise of the cost of fees with average total fees for a two-year fixed mortgage increasing from £1,170.50 to £1,393.17, a 19% increase since April 2012.
The average fee on five-year fixed rate mortgages has risen by 22%, from £996.83 to £1,218.13.