Borrowers hit by fall in mortgage availability

Posted: 11 Feb 2009 10:41:11 GMT

The number of mortgages available to prospective property buyers has shrunk by around 90 per cent since the start of the credit crunch, a new report has revealed.

Despite borrowers having recently been boosted by the Bank of England's decision to reduce the base rate of interest to just one per cent, new figures compiled by website Moneyfacts.co.uk show that a majority of would-be buyers are still unable to get hold of a mortgage.

According to the site's research, the number of mortgage products available in the UK has fallen from a high of almost 16,000 to its current level of just over 1,500 in less than two years.

What's more, most lenders are now asking for deposits of up to 40 per cent, with the number of mortgages available to those who can only afford to pay ten per cent up front now standing at just 130.

These latest figures come in the same week as another website, moneysupermarket.com, reported that homeowners who took out 25-year mortgages two years ago are now 'paying the price' and "crying into their porridge each morning".

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