Good mortgages are still out there

Published: April 18, 2008

There is still a wide choice of first-time buyer mortgages available in the UK.

That is according to the Building Societies Association (BSA), which said that many borrowers can get their hands on competitive mortgage interest rates.

It comes despite the global credit crunch, which has led to a number of mortgages being removed from the market.

The BSA admitted that the number of available mortgages has decreased but pointed out that attractive deals are still out there.

"Whilst the range of mortgages has decreased over the last twelve months, customers still have a very wide choice and it is still a very competitive market," said Neil Johnson, PR and policy manager at the BSA.

Mortgage borrowers have been boosted in recent months by a number of base rate of interest reductions.

Since December 2007, rates have been cut three times, bringing them down from 5.75 per cent to just five per cent.