The number of mortgage products aimed at those with low deposit amounts fell in June, shows data from Moneyfacts.

On 1 June there were 183 products of all types at 90 per cent LTV, which fell to 70 when counted on 1 July.

At 95 per cent LTV, the respective counts came in at 31 and 14.

At the start of March this year, these numbers read as 779 products at 90 per cent LTV and 391 products at 95 per cent LTV.

However, reduced choice is not just a matter of how many products there are to choose from. As Moneyfacts finance expert Eleanor Williams says of 95 per cent LTV deals: “The majority of the available products at this level now are specialist options.

“This includes guarantor and family assist mortgages, such as the Barclays Springboard mortgage, and those open only to applications from selected professions or from those in specific lending areas.

“This information could be disappointing to many would-be borrowers who may not have someone to guarantee, do not work in the specified job roles, or do not reside in the relevant postcodes, especially considering that while savings rates continue to plummet, increasing their level of deposit is likely to more be difficult.”

Moneyfacts says that there are 16 two-year fixed rate products to choose from at 90 per cent LTV, down from 55 on 1 June, while the average rate has moved up from 2.30 per cent to 2.90 per cent.

For five-year fixes, the average rate across the same time frame as above has increased from 2.57 per cent to 3.16 per cent, while product numbers have shifted down, from 51 to 26.

At 95 per cent LTV, meanwhile, the average rate for a two-year fix has grown from 3.28 per cent to 3.94 per cent and the choice from six to just one.

Things are more stable at the five-year fixed rate mark though, with the rate actually going down slightly, from 3.48 per cent to 3.46 per cent, and the product choice moving from nine to five.

Williams adds: “It seems that while lenders have the appetite to lend, intense customer demand being levelled at the small number of providers who have relaunched in these tiers is overwhelming, at a time when operational capacity is already stretched and there continues to be existing customers requiring support with payment difficulties in addition to new business underwriting. Therefore, until more lenders return to this space with products to support the clear borrower demand, it seems likely that we will continue to see an ebb and flow in availability.”

“We are left with a very mixed picture for potential new mortgage customers. Those with higher levels of deposit or equity are seeing continued reductions in the average rates available and the prospect of saving potentially thousands on stamp duty will be a fantastic incentive to progress any home moves.

“However, for those with only 5 per cent or 10 per cent deposit or equity, the outlook remains bleak. For the stamp duty holiday to succeed in encouraging more prospective borrowers to take that next step on the property ladder, the demand for products, especially in the high LTV tiers where most of the fluctuations in availability are focused, needs to be met.”