70% of mortgage deals pulled in crunch, study shows

13/08/2008

The number of mortgage deals on the market has shrunk by 71 per cent since August 2007, new figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk show.

According to the financial website, just 3,748 home loans products are currently available - down from over 13,000 last year.

Moreover, mortgage firms have also increased their deposit requirements, with an average initial lump sum payment of around 20 per cent now needed for a loan to be secured.

Last August, this figure stood at ten per cent.

Deposit-free, or 100 per cent, mortgages have also disappeared from the market completely over the period.

Michelle Slade, analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk, commented: "One year ago the financial world changed completely as the credit crunch took hold. Today the world of mortgages is a completely different place."

She added: "The standard factors which usually determine the rates at which mortgage rates are set, including bank base rate, swap rates and Libor rates are all much lower than this time last year, yet the rates on offer are much higher."

Tags; Current UK Economy, Housing Debt and Bills,

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