Big news in the mortgage market is the return of the 100% loan after Barclays announced it was introducing a new 0% deposit product.
However, the deal is just for those buyers taking advantage of Barclays ‘family springboard’ mortgage – a loan that sees parents support the mortgage.
Under the family springboard deal a helper, usually parents, puts 10% of the house purchase price into a savings account linked to the mortgage.
Provided the mortgage payers keep up their payments, this helper has their deposit returned, plus interest, three years later.
Previously, Barclays was offering this mortgage with a 5% deposit, but this week it announced that it was available to those with no deposit.
The lender has also raised the maximum amount that home buyers can  borrow as a multiple of their income under the deal. Customers with an income of more than £50,000 will be able to borrow up to 5.5 times their income, up from 4.4.
If you have no deposit, the rate is fixed for three years at 2.99% or 2.79% if you can muster a 5% deposit. The helper gets 2% return on their “helpful starter” account.
Barclays’ news comes on top of encouraging signs in the mortgage market. Borrowing in March was 64% higher than this time last year, with the gross mortgage borrowing of £17.1bn the highest since April 2008.
Mortgage rates are continuing to fall with, for example, a five-year tracker mortgage with a 10% deposit now some 10% cheaper than at the start of the year. You can now get one of these mortgages for a rate of 2.65%.