With interest rates remaining low lenders are lowering fixed rate mortgages even for homebuyers with only small deposits.

First time buyers have struggled to buy their first home with numbers declining for more than a decade according to the ONS.

More homebuyers in their 40s are unable to buy or remortgage their homes with tougher rules and rising house prices.

Increased competition between lenders has lowered mortgage rates although 8% fewer homeowners have opted for a remortgage.

Data from the Bank of England shows mortgage approval numbers have reduced confirming a slowdown in the housing market.

Leading mortgage lender the Halifax has released data showing house prices have increased by the biggest annual amount since September 2007.

Demand for new-build homes is driving a boom in house building with construction growing for the fifteenth consecutive month.

Lenders have increased the cost of fixed rate mortgages after the Bank of England signal the end of cheap borrowing.

National Housing Federation (NHF) says first time buyers now need 10 times the deposit when compared to buying in the early 1980s.

About 95% of all mortgages are fixed rate with the threat of interest rates rising and homeowners want certainty in the future.

Warnings from the Bank of England that interest rates would rise six fold by 2017 means higher mortgage costs for almost three million households.

The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has said mortgage approvals are up 57% on the previous year and the highest since September 2007.