Rise in available 85 per cent mortgages

Further increases in the number of people looking to rent properties could be expected after mixed messages came through from mortgage lenders.

The number of 85 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages available from lenders is at its highest level in more than 12 months, according to online financial advisers Moneyfacts.

There are currently 226 products available in the 85 per cent LTV range, up from 189 one year ago.

However, the organisation's figures also showed that the number of 80 per cent mortgages had dropped from 136 to 117 over the same period, with most property buyers still requiring a deposit of at least 25 per cent.

Ben Wilkie, editor at What Mortgage, said that although the figures could be seen as good news, they were still "pretty poor".

"Any first-time buyer mortgage worth its salt 18 months ago would have gone to 95 per cent and some of them went higher than that," he said.

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