Despite a recent rise in swap rates and a static bank base rate, Halifax, HSBC, and building societies including Chelsea, Nationwide, Yorkshire and Coventry have all cut rates this month.

The buy-to-let market has also benefited from an increased range of products and lower rates announced over the last week.

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, said lenders are far less dependent on swap rates for new funding and are looking toward their savers to balance the books.

He added: “Lenders also believe that interest rates will remain low for some time and there is also a modest improvement in wholesale funding and increased competition with a number of new lenders entering the market”.

Darren Cohen, mortgage consultant at LRG, said that he hoped the latest rate cuts would not prove to be a short-term burst from lenders and that the cuts would mean genuine competition had returned to the market.

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He said: “I hope that lenders are not just looking for market share and that the cuts signify a genuine easing in the money markets, so that the mortgage market will be more competitive this year.”