They are also offering and a two year tracker deal, available from 2.78 per cent up to 70 per cent LTV. Existing borrowers moving home can borrow up to 95 per cent LTV is a good start from Nationwide however new customers this is restricted to 85%.

There are also some good remortgage deals, mortgage director at Nationwide Andy McQueen said “We are making 19 individual rate cuts of up to 0.31 per cent on some of our house purchase and remortgage products. This, together with the special offers we recently announced for first time buyers and house purchasers, will be good news for those trying to get on the housing ladder or secure a new home.”

To see what other rates are available go to introducertoday.co.uk. Do you think banks and building societies should do more for first time buyers? Let us know your thoughts.

So it means that first time buyers will benefit from Britain remaining in recession, mainly because Bank Rate will stay low and keep mortgage rates affordable. Martin Gahbauer the Nationwide’s chief economist said “as a result, mortgage affordability will remain relatively favourable for both new and existing borrowers.”

Levels off mortgage take ups are still low, and Nationwide have warned that a large influx of property coming to market, would decrease house prices as supply overtook demand. Melanie Bien of Savills Private Finance, a mortgage broker, has agreed that high demand had helped push house price inflation back into positive territory.

To read more on this story go to telegraph.co.uk. Tell us what you think, do you think it’s the beginning of the end to the recession?

Nationwide, who it the UK’s second largest lender will cut their two-year fixed-rate loans today by 0.3 per cent, while their three-year and five-year mortgages will drop by 0.12 and 0.17 of a percent age point, respectively.

Lloyds TSB owned Cheltenham & Gloucester cut the rate on their two-year loans yesterday; the new rate has been reduced by between 0.1 and 0.15 of a percent.

With so many mortgage lenders now reducing their rates, we are starting to see borrowers switching mortgage lenders to try and get the best deal in these tough times.

Mortgage costs have raised sharply over the past year, banks were losing money so the only place they could make it up was from mortgages. House prices have now started to fall because of this, it is hoped that we more lenders reducing the rates of their mortgages that this could help kick start the housing market once more.

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Nationwide are to reduce their interest rates on a range of their fixed-rate and tracker mortgages, rates on their fixed rate terms will fall 0.07% while a two-year fixed will now be available from 6.58% with a set up fee of £599, a 6.98% rate will have no fee.

Nationwide who recently launched their new two-year tracker will now start at 5.98%, this has a set up fee of £599, while the 5.78% has a fee of £1,499.

Looking closely at these new rates, it looks as though these tracker mortgages are now down by 0.27% however; these new rates only apply to those with larger deposits, so if you only have a 5% deposit, forget it.

Santander owned Abbey has now reduced the rate on their 75% loan-to-value fixed-rate and tracker loans by 0.2%. It is thought that other companies like Birmingham Midshires, will also announce rate cuts in the coming days.

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Nationwide customers are being warned that because the market is very volatile at the moment, there will be frequent changes to mortgage rates, and there are no plans that this will stop anytime soon. It seems that mortgage borrowers are in for a bumpy ride, we are now in some choppy waters and things are set to get a lot rougher. This will be make or break for a number of people who are now at their limit with how much they are able to afford, on their monthly mortgage payments. We are now entering a stage where we will be seeing increases in house repossessions, as families struggle due to mortgage rate rises along with increased household bills.

If the current credit crisis gets even worse then I fear that people will blame the government, Gordon Brown will have to do something soon to turn the state of the UK economy around, otherwise he does not stand a chance of getting in again at the next General Election.

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