Mortgage rates continue to fall, according to Rightmove.

The property portal tracks average rates each week at different loan-to-value tiers. These tiers relate to the level of deposit the borrower has as proportion of the property’s value.

The higher the loan to value (LTV), the smaller the deposit as a proportion of the property price. These deals tend to be most expensive.

A lower LTV means the borrowers has a substantial deposit or equity stake, and these deals tend to be the most competitive.

What’s changed?

Rates have fallen at the higher LTV tier of 95%, for borrowers with a 5% deposit.

Two-year fixed rates at 95% have fallen by 0.04 percentage points in the last week to an average 5.48%. For context, equivalent products were just 3.14% a year ago.

Five-year fixed rates at 95% are now 5.04%, down 0.02 percentage points on last week. Equivalent products were 3.36% this time last year.

Rates are also falling for borrowers with a significant 40% deposit, said Rightmove.

Two-year fixed rates at 60% LTV have fallen by 0.04 percentage points in the last week to an average 4.46%. For context, equivalent products were just 2.28% a year ago.

Five-year fixed rates at 60% LTV are now 4.13%, down 0.04 percentage points on last week. Equivalent products were 2.34% this time last year.

Rightmove’s data showed a slight fall across the board, in two-year and five-year fixed rates at each loan-to-value tier over the last week.

The company’s mortgage expert, Matt Smith, said: “Average mortgage rates have continued to fall across all loan-to-value ranges for the fifth consecutive week. Due to this sustained period of rate falls, it’s now clear that this is no longer simply due to the March Base Rate decision, and that lenders are actively competing for business.

“Competition is strongest in the traditional first-time-buyer loan-to-value ranges. Average rates have fallen by 0.06 percentage points week-on-week for both two and five-year fixed rates at 90% loan-to-value, and two-year fixed rates at 85% have also fallen by 0.06 percentage points. Meanwhile, five-year fixed rates at 85% loan-to-value reduced by 0.04 percentage points this week.

“It is likely that we’ll see a continuation of the current trend of reducing rates in the immediate term, as lenders vie for business in the Spring buying season.”