With the Bank of England’s base rate fixed at 5.75% for a third consecutive month, Andrews Mortgage Services reported a 10% drop in clients opting for fixed rate products as discount and tracker mortgages take up its largest share of the market to date.

Chris Chapman, director of Andrews Financial Services, said: “While fixed rates remained popular during August, having peaked as the choice of product for 91% of our clients during July, this figure fell to 81% by the following month.

“With nearly one in five clients now opting for variable products, it would appear fixed rates are beginning to fall from favour. And as LIBOR is currently running at 6.75%, which is the highest in nine years, a number of lenders are finding it increasingly expensive to fund fixed rate products, so it’s fair to say more competitive tracker and discount mortgages may well be just around the corner.”