The mortgage market saw a mixture of rises and cuts this week, but cuts took precedence.

As Moneyfacts expert Rachel Springall pointed out the rate reductions prevailed to push the average two-year fixed rate slightly lower to 5.32%, however the average five-year fixed rate remained unchanged week-on-week at 5.18%.

The prominent brands to reduce selected fixed rates this week included Virgin Money by up to 0.10%, Santander by up to 0.15% but also increased by up to 0.09% and NatWest and RBS by up to 0.10% but they also increased by up to 0.03%.

Building societies made a few rate moves this week, those to cut included Nottingham Building Society by up to 0.10%, Leek Building Society by up to 0.09%, Saffron Building Society by up to 0.20%.

Principality Building Society cut some rates by up to 0.29% but also made increases of up to 0.12%, similarly Skipton Building Society cut some rates by up to 0.11% but also made increases of up to 0.15% and Family Building Society reduced some rates by up to 0.10% but also made increases of up to 0.20% on other deals.

The mutuals to make increases included West Brom Building Society by up to 0.07% and Mansfield Building Society by up to 0.75%.

There were also new deals launched into the fray with Yorkshire Building Society launching new fixed rate deals for first-time buyers, as did Chorley Building Society. Atom Bank launching some new ‘near prime’ fixed rates.

Not to go unnoticed, a few more lenders moved to reduce rates such as The Mortgage Lender by up to 0.25%, Hodge reduced by up to 0.27% but also increased by up to 0.08%, The Co-operative Bank reduced by up to 0.24% but also increased by up to 0.02%.

Clydesdale Bank reduced by up to 0.37%, Vida Homeloans reduced by up to 0.30% but also made increases of up to 0.55%. Those lenders to increase rates included MPowered Mortgages by up to 0.07%, LiveMore Capital by up to 0.56% and April Mortgages by up to 0.12%.

Springall commented: “One of the eye-catching deals to hit the market this week was a five-year fixed rate deal from Virgin Money, priced at 5.03% and available at 95% loan-to-value for house purchase customers. It includes a free valuation and £300 cashback and has no product fee. This could be an attractive choice for those with a very small deposit and are looking to minimise the upfront cost of their mortgage.”

She added that it was encouraging to see more lenders cut rates in their range and for more new deals to surface which are ideal for first-time buyers with small deposits.

“However, there were a few rate increases from lenders, and this comes at a time where two- and five-year swap rates headed slightly further higher from their 30-day lows. Still, there still appears to be a positive sentiment in the mortgage market, particularly for buyers concerned about a rise in Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) from April, as a few lenders launched lucrative cashback offers this week to help cash-strapped buyers.”