The gap between the average maximum and minimum loan sizes is at its widest since Mortgage Broker Tools started reporting data on this market more than 18 months ago.

The platform’s June Affordability Index found that the gap between the minimum and maximum loan offered to an average mortgage customer was more than £133,000.

This is around 28% up from just over £104,000 last June, and the highest seen since MBT started recording this data in January 2021, when the gap was just over £88,000, which is around 50% up on last month.

However, the report adds that while the spread of loan sizes available to mortgage applicants is as large as it ever has been, the proportion of mortgage enquiries where customers are offered the loan size they want remains stable at 76%.

Mortgage Broker Tools chief executive Tanya Toumadj says: “The increased cost of living is now being factored into lender affordability calculators. The impact of this is greater on those with lower incomes and as such, this month’s MBT Affordability Index has seen a significant decrease in the average minimum loan size available to customers.

“Consequently, we are seeing greater disparity between maximum and minimum loans available to borrowers.

“However, there are still lenders able to provide the loan sizes that borrowers are requesting and our data shows that more than three-quarters of mortgage enquiries are still able to secure the loan size requested from at least one lender.

“In this environment, comprehensive research among a wide group of lenders is vital to ensure that clients are able to access the loan size they need.”