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Abbey is reducing its range of five-year fixed rate mortgages by up to 0.26% from tomorrow.
The new range includes a mortgage reduced to 4.49%, from 4.75%, and up to 70% LTV with £995 fee.
And a product cut to 4.99% on its 75% LTV, previously 5.15%, with a £995 fee.

Abbey is also launching a two-year tracker at 3.29%, up to 75% with no booking fee.
All three products come with the Home buyer Solution, offering borrowers a free basic mortgage valuation and £250 cashback on completion.
The lender is also reducing the rate on one of its two-year fixes by 0.05% – it will now offer a two-year fix available up to 70% LTV at 3.09% and a fee of £995.
Alan Mathewson, managing director of Abbey for Intermediaries, says: “At a time when some borrowers are starting to look towards the security of a fixed rate deal, we expect our five-year fixes to be extremely popular.
“For borrowers who want the flexibility of a tracker deal, meanwhile, we have launched a new market leading two-year tracker with no fee.”

The top six banks in the UK  have increased their share of gross mortgage  lending to 85%, leaving building societies struggling to keep up.
Research from the independent market analyst Datamonitor has found some signs of growth in the mortgage market. However due to the government bailout at the start of the recession the banks can  access cheaper borrowing, providing them with a competitive advantage over building societies.
Daoud Fakhri, analyst at Datamonitor, said: “Most people would have expected building societies to emerge from the credit crisis in a stronger position than banks. It seems that although they didn’t engage in high-risk lending which contributed to the banking crisis they have still suffered.
“Banks have been able to borrow from the state at advantageous rates which building societies haven’t had access to. As building societies didn’t qualify for this they’ve been forced to rely almost purely on retail deposits for funding, which they’ve had to pay 2-3% over the base rate for. As a result it has been incredibly difficult for building societies to compete with banks for mortgage business as they’ve been forced to charge more.”

Outstanding mortgage balances grew by £145.6 billion for banks (25%) but it shrank by more than £18 billion (9%) for building societies. Low savings rates, which make it less attractive to save, have also hit building societies.
Due to more favourable rates available to banks they’re also stealing savings market share from building societies. Banks increased their market share from 75% in 2008 to 78% in 2009 and building societies reduced their share from 21% to 18%. This has squeezed profits harder and made it even more difficult for building societies to offer competitive rates on mortgages.

“Banks are able to cash in on their competitive advantage over building societies and as a result they are turning a corner and starting to show signs of returning to financial health.
“Ultimately this is good news for the mortgage industry as it means there is greater confidence and an increased level of lending. Banks are in a strong position and will continue to increase their dominance of the market. However, the fact that this is leaving building societies struggling will lead to less competition as banks continue to gain market share.
“We will see more consolidations and building societies will continue to disappear from the industry. In the long term, consumers will suffer as with less competition in the market, banks will feel less pressure so as a result there may be fewer ‘good deals’ available.”

Scotland is the only part of the UK where house prices continue in an upward trend , according to latest figures from Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors .
They said there was a modest rise in average prices in July and August.
They also said it was hard to predict what would happen in the longer term.
In the UK as a whole, house prices have fallen for the second month in succession.
Surveyors expect prices to rise in Scotland over the next three months, the only part of the UK where this will happen.
Sarah Speirs, deputy director of RICS Scotland, said: “What we are reporting is a levelling out of the Scottish market which puts us at odds with the rest of the UK.
“Demand is starting to weaken but prices being supported by continued falls in supply.”
She added: “Surveyors in Scotland are confident that prices will rise moderately over the next three months.
“However, the situation as ever is fluid and highly dependent on the scale of public sector spending cuts and the performance of the wider economy.”

According to the latest RICS UK Housing Market survey over a third of chartered surveyors reported house prices falling in August – the biggest drop since May 2009. This downward spiral of prices continues to be driven by a combination of increased supply and a moderation in demand from buyers, according to RICS. Surveyors are now reporting prices slipping in all regions covered in the survey apart from Scotland. Meanwhile, the balance of newly agreed sales also fell, from +1 to -20, the lowest reading since August 2008. However, future expectations for sales have begun to pick up; 18% more surveyors expect sales to rise over the next three months, up from 8% in July. This rise in sentiment may be attributed to the view that a dip in house prices will begin to tempt more buyers back to the market over the coming months. New instructions, which indicate supply to the market, showed 12% more surveyors reporting a rise in instructions rather than a fall, down from last month’s reading of 33%. This suggests the initial surge of property to the market after HIPS were abolished has now started to fall back. Buyer demand, measured by new buyer enquiries fell from -10 to -17, the lowest reading since January 2010. Significantly, the gap between these two series, which is the best lead indicator of future prices, has narrowed for two successive months. The average number of sales per surveyor remained broadly unchanged at 16.7 while properties on surveyors’ books fell slightly, taking the figure to 67.8. As a result, the sales to stock ratio – a key indicator of future house price inflation edged up to 24.7%. Looking ahead, surveyors’ expectations for house prices over the next three months continue to deteriorate, with 38% more expecting prices to fall rather than rise. This is down from a net balance of 28% in July. Commenting, RICS spokesperson, Jeremy Leaf said: “The latest set of results suggest prices in many parts of the country may be slipping but this does appear to be encouraging hopes amongst surveyors that sales levels could begin to pick up as a result. That said, there can be little doubt that the restrictive attitude to the provision of mortgage finance will continue to limit transaction activity in the market. Looking forward, our price indicators are telling a mixed story which is consistent with the uncertainty hanging over the economy, the low level of interest rates and the lack of new house building.

Mortgage lending continues to be tight despite a slight rise in new mortgage lending in July, lenders say.
The volume of mortgages for new home buying increased to 56,000 in July, up 7% on the previous month, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said.
This was 6% up on the same month last year which was pretty stagnent.
But the group said that although there had been a seasonal uplift, the market remained “very weak” with loan criteria having tightened up.
Lending criteria remain tight, underpinned by caution on the part of both borrowers and lenders in the light of continuing economic uncertainty,” said CML economist Paul Samter.
First time buyers are still struggling to raise the necessary money to take out a mortgage.
They had to put down an average deposit of 24% in July, a position that has changed little since the start of 2009.
The proportion of new mortgages taken by first-time buyers fell to just 34% of all loans granted to home buyers.
That was down from 38% in June and the smallest percentage since the middle of 2007, just before the onset of the credit crunch and the international banking crisis.

HSBC new tracker deal tracks at 3.69% above the Bank of England base rate currently giving a pay rate of 4.19% and they are also launching a two-year fixed rate deal at 5.09%.

Both mortgages come with a fee of £99.
Martijn van der Heijden, head of mortgages at HSBC, says: “HSBC is keen to be there for new and existing customers, whether it’s for people looking to take their first step on the housing ladder or for people looking to improve on their current deal. “We think we can reduce the cost of borrowing for most people and we think that’s what people are after in these difficult times.”
In addition to the 90% LTV mortgage, HSBC is further extending its 2.19% lifetime tracker, with a fee of £99, until October 31 2010. �
“It says there has been a huge demand for the deal since its launch in August and it continues to approve four out of five mortgage applications.”

Over 1,500 mortgages were introduced into the UK mortgage market during August – the biggest increase in over 20 months. The total number of mortgage schemes listed on Mortgage Brain sourcing system increased by 25% in the past month, up from 6,081 on August 2 to 7,618 as at August 30.  The figures are a far cry from this time last year when there was a mere 0.2% increase in product availability and the total number of products stood at 2,505. Since then, more than 5,000 products have been introduced (a 204% increase).Fixed rate products claim market share of new products introduced last month. A 31% increase (1,179 new products) during August brings the total number of fixed rate products available to UK intermediaries to 5,020 – up from 3,841 available at the start of the month. Variable rate products now represent 949 of all available products – their highest in over two years – after an 85% increase (437 new products) during August.Trackers continue their downward trend, however, dropping for the third month in a row (5%) but still hold their ground as the second most popular product type, representing 1,649 of all products. There were 350 new core lender products introduced in August, representing a 17% increase in availability. There was a 29.9% rise in broker exclusives (1,187 new products) but a relatively modest 9.7% increase in lender direct products, bringing the total to 1,280.Mark Lofthouse, CEO of Mortgage Brain, said: “Compared to August 2009, the UK mortgage market has moved ahead leaps and bounds in terms of product availability, which is great news for all.“This time last year our analysis showed that five new products were introduced during August. This year the number peaks at just over 1,500. The overall 12-month analysis is equally as impressive with 5,113 more products now available in the UK intermediary market than this time last year.”