The number of residential mortgages on the market has fallen for the first time since October 2020, Moneyfacts reports.

In January of this year, there were 5,394 mortgages to choose from. This has since dropped to 3,356 – a total of 38.

On a yearly basis, however, the number of mortgages available is up by 2,141, there having been 3,215 in February 2020.

And for the fourth month in a row, the average rates for both a two- and five-year fix rose across all LTV categories.

The average two-year fix moved up by 6 basis points, to 2.44% and the average five-year fix by 5 basis points, to 2.71%.

Rates for tracker mortgages have travelled in the opposite direction. The average rate for a two-year tracker has decreased by 5 basis points across the move, to 1.70%, and the average term-year tracker has nudged down by 2 basis points, to 3.51%.

Moneyfacts also points out that the average shelf life of all mortgage products has jumped by 50% – from 28 in January to 42 today.

This means that borrower have 14 more days to secure their mortgage.

Moneyfacts finance expert Eleanor Williams says: “Such a small month-on-month reduction in numbers, rather than a cause for concern, could potentially be a sign of the market returning to a level of stability after a tumultuous couple of years. There are in fact 280 more deals than were on offer in February 2020, before the onset of the pandemic.”

And regarding the change in shelf life: “This could suggest that lenders had already made many of their re-pricing decisions in anticipation of the base rate rise in December 2020 and therefore January saw fewer updates made.

“However, conversely, this lull in activity could be a reflection of lenders holding back on re-pricing decisions in advance of last week’s move, and so it may be a different story next month.”