The Woolwich has become the latest firm to announce a new round of rate cuts, as the restrictions on the mortgage market appear to be loosening at last.
Mortgage firms in the UK are continuing to cut rates, with the Woolwich the latest to take the plunge.
The building society announced today that its three and five year fixes were both coming down by 0.32 percent, while their ten year fix was being reduced from 5.94 to 5.87 percent. These cuts are the third to be imposed by the firm on its mortgages over the past month alone.
Recently, rate cuts have also been imposed by several lenders. Just yesterday Britain's second-biggest lender, Halifax, reduced both its two and three-year tracker and fixed rates to start from 5.99 and 6.19 percent respectively.
Reductions have also been announced by Northern Rock, Abbey, Nationwide and HSBC - offering new hope to first time buyers who have been discouraged by the effect the credit crunch has had on loans provision.
"We're seeing strong competition in the market, and some easing in fixed rates - and that adds up to a good result for customers," said David Finlay, mortgage intermediary business director at Woolwich. "These reductions will provide some relief for customers coming off fixed rates."
The decision to reduce mortgage deals has proved especially welcome, given that the Bank of England decided not to cut the base rate from its current level of five percent this month. This was due to the Bank's concerns over rising inflation rates.
