Hopeful mortgage customers are being offered some relief by mortgage lenders that are starting to offer new loans, potentially easing some of the problems in the market.

The Mortgage Works and Nationwide have become two of the latest lenders to change their mortgage ranges, offering new deals on fixed rate mortgages, buy to let mortgages and self certification mortgages.

To gain access to the most competitive mortgage deals on the market, homebuyers will now have to find an average deposit of £37,119, according to research from online mortgage company mform.co.uk; at the same time last year it was £21,000.

The research analysed the average deposit required in August 2007 compared to August 2008, as well as the change in house prices, and found that the lowest deposit for the best buy mortgages is in the North East which requires an average of £27,703, dramatically less than in London where the average is now £71,616.

So even as house prices drop, homebuyers are still being squeezed by higher mortgage rates and bigger deposits to secure competitive deals.

“Availability of mortgage deals remains the biggest issue for borrowers who do not have equity in their homes. Those who have benefited from the decade-long housing boom can still qualify for the most competitive rates.” says Francis Ghiloni, marketing and business development director at mform.co.uk.

The Mortgage Works (TMW) has launched a new selection of mortgages, offering a rate of 5.09 per cent on buy-to-let loans and reducing the rates on its entire range of buy to let and tracker self-certification mortgages.

Nationwide has announced that it is launching a new five year fixed rate mortgage at 5.68 per cent for those who are remortgaging and has a fee of £1,499. A rate of 5.99 per cent is available for house purchasers.

Despite new deals becoming available on the market, with the higher deposit required for the most competitive loans, first time buyers are still largely up the creek without a paddle.

mform.co.uk’s Francis Ghiloni added that “first-time buyers or those who have entered the property market recently will struggle to qualify for the most competitive rates.

“That makes it even more important for borrowers to focus on the true cost of their loan including all fees and not to simply focus on rates. There are still competitive deals and lenders willing to offer 95 per cent loans but the most competitive offers are being restricted to people with big deposits or substantial equity.”

© Fair Investment Company Ltd