Mortgage offers have hit a three-month low, it is reported, with lenders pulling deals as the threat of further interest rate rises looms. 

There were 200 fewer mortgage packages on offer on Monday 5 June than on Friday 2 June, which is the lowest number since mid-March, according to a report by Sky News. 

The total of mortgage products fell 4% from 4,686 to 4,616 over the weekend as a nervous market reacts to uncertainty about whether the Bank of England will increase interest rates again later this month.

Santander and Furness BS both removed some of their fixed rates, while the Co-operative Bank withdrew its entire mortgage range. 

Halifax, the UK’s largest mortgage lender, increased some of its fixed rate offers by 0.3 percentage points, while Leeds BS pushed its up 0.4pp. 

A tightening of the mortgage market comes as more first-time buyers are opting for mortgages of 35 years or even longer. Data from banking trade group UK Finance showed a record number of buyers taking out 35-year mortgages to keep repayment amounts down. The proportion of FTBs going for the longer-term mortgages was up to 19% in March, more than double the figure for last year.