There are now 2,500 mortgage products available, the most home loans on the market for many months, another sign that conditions in the mortgage market are recovering.

According to analysis by moneysupermarket.com, not since May 2009 has there been this number of mortgage deals on the market, and it also marks the third consecutive monthly increase in the number of different products available.

But, while this increase in choice for borrowers is a positive sign of recovery in the mortgage market, it is still a considerable distance from the number of deals available in August 2007, when borrowers had a potential 30,000 mortgage products to choose from.

Before Northern Rock collapsed there were 12 times the number of products on the market than there are today; when it collapsed and took the housing market with it, lenders were quick to withdraw deals, some pulling out of the market altogether, and wariness remains, with most lenders asking for high deposits and strong credit histories.

Commenting on the data, Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield, mortgages channel manager at moneysupermarket.com, said: “This is good news for buyers, as passing the 2,500 barrier does suggest that those looking for a mortgage are finding more and more choice, and where there is choice, there is competition.”

And, she believes that the third consecutive month of growth suggests that the increases are sustainable.

She is cautious to encourage too much optimism, however and urges potential borrowers to keep things in perspective, as “whilst 2,500 available products looks like an important milestone now, it represents what would have been only a small fraction of the market in August 2007,” Ms Skenfield explained. 

“With this in mind we are clearly a long way short of a full recovery, but we are at least moving in the right direction,” she added.

© Fair Investment Company Ltd