It continues to be a struggle on each side of the table in the mortgage industry. Borrowers are wanting a mortgage with a decent LTV while lenders continue to utilize stringent lending criteria.

Moneyfacts, the financial data service, calculates the number of homeowners available has increased by 68 per cent since the start of the year.

However, due to the still strict guidelines, almost 60 per cent of today’s mortgage offers still require a minimum of 25 per cent down of the property value. Only 8 per cent of the mortgages today require a 10 per cent deposit, with 90 per cent LTV.

A few weeks ago the Financial Services Authority (FSA) implemented new borrowing guidelines which included the requirement for a borrower to prove income. Lenders have the burden of verifying the information. This abolished the self certification loans that were often used by new job borrowers and the self employed. Analysts believe this will shut out a lot of new home buyers.

Michelle Slade of Moneyfacts explained: "There has been no real movement in the overall number of new mortgages available on the market (in the past month), but those that are available continue to be more competitive."

She added, "Many of the best deals are now available for a 25 per cent deposit, having previously only been available for those with a 40 per cent deposit."

According to Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed rate deal now comes with a decreased rate of 4.5 per cent compared to 4.9 per cent in January.

Overall, interest rates have declined for fixed rate mortgages, while the same stringent guidelines of lenders live on.