MORE low-deposit mortgages are available now than at any time since the 2008 financial crisis.
There are 442 home loans with a five per cent deposit to choose from, more than double the number from two years ago.
Borrowers able to stretch to a ten per cent deposit have the pick of 845 deals — up by a third in two years.
It makes it the highest number of such offers in 17 years, according to analysts from Moneyfacts.
In March 2008, there were 575 five per cent deals on offer and 957 ten per cent deals.
Finance expert Rachel Springall, from Moneyfacts, said: “A rise in product availability for aspiring homeowners is a healthy step in the right direction.
“However, there is still much more room for improvement.”
And while it is a boost for first-time buyers, house prices and mortgage rates are markedly higher than they have been for much of the past 17 years.
A borrower with a smaller deposit still has to pay a mortgage rate of well over five per cent on average.
And the lowest deposit loans account for just six per cent of the thousands of mortgage deals on offer.
The price of a typical new property on the market in April is £377,182, £5,312 higher than a month previously, according to property website RightMove.
The average asking price in London in April soared to a record high of £699,200.
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