Mortgage products cut by two thirds in crunch

The onset of the credit crunch has decimated the UK market, with a sharp reduction in the number of specialist mortgages available and an equally sharp rise in the cost of home finance. Moneyfacts.co.uk’s figures show there were 13,027 mortgage products available in the UK in August 2007. This has fallen by 72% to just 3,748 this month. Specialist mortgage products have been the hardest hit by the crunch, with riskier product offerings almost disappearing completely. A year ago, 11 lenders, including Northern Rock, were offering mortgages worth more than 100% of a property’s value, but t...