Demand for residential mortgages is outweighing supply, according to Moneyfacts research

The number of mortgage products on the market has increased substantially over the past year, but demand is outstripping supply and people are having to move quickly to secure the best deals.

There are nearly 3,200 products on the market today as opposed to just over 2,500 a year ago. At the height of the banking crisis in 2009, there were just 1,200 home-loan products available.

The 90pc loan-to-value (LTV) tier is making a strong resurgence, as is the 95pc LTV tier, which all but disappeared back in 2009.

New mortgage deals are now available for an average of 27 days before they are pulled, which is shy of the historical industry average of 30 days.

“It just goes to show that there are still not enough deals around to satisfy demand,” said Sylvia Waycot, a spokesman for Moneyfacts.co.uk, which compiled the figures.

“Although choice is growing, we are still a far cry from the 11,951 residential mortgages available in 2007 before the present economic situation began.

“First-time buyers are always going to struggle to find an often unrealistic 40pc deposit, so thankfully we are seeing the 90pc and 95pc LTVs start to return to the market.”

But Ms Waycot said many providers were still targeting borrowers with proven track records and putting a strong focus on trying to attract remortgage customers rather than first-time buyers.

“This is shown by some of the incentives offered to those remortgaging, such as free legal fees, free valuations or cash back,” she said.