The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders demonstrate the changes to the mortgage market since October last year.

First-time buyers have suffered, with only 12,400 buyers managing to secure a property in November.

Remortgage deals remain difficult to find and expensive to take out due to falling house prices and a shortage of bank funds to borrow from.

The CML statistics, however, show that tracker mortgages have grown in popularity since the base rate cuts, with 38% of borrowers taking out this kind of mortgage deal.

Fixed rate deals are also more popular, with 52% of borrowers opting for these when remortgaging.