Number of available mortgages 'on the increase'

Date:Monday 11th May 2009
Author: Susanna Kavka

The number of mortgages available in the UK is on the rise, it has been found.

According to figures produced by Mortgage Brain, the total number of live mortgages listed on its sourcing system rose by eight per cent last month compared with March.

The organisation identified variable-rate mortgages as the type of home loan that underwent the biggest increase, with a rise of 18 per cent.

Meanwhile, fixed-rate mortgages saw the second most significant increase of 13 per cent.

Conversely, the number of available tracker products fell by 14 per cent in April.

Responding to the statistics, Mortgage Brain chief executive officer Mark Lofthouse said: "It's encouraging to see the total number of live mortgage schemes increase for the second month in a row and whilst some of these changes might be small, they do represent positive indicators of market stabilisation and slight upward movement."

Recently, Nici Audhlam-Gardiner of Alliance & Leicester Mortgages advised consumers to consider purchasing fixed-rate home loans before interest rates begin to rise from their current record lows.