It appears to be a good time for borrowers – or at least those with a big deposit.

Since May of this year, and for the first time in almost four years, homebuyers have been offered mortgages with interest rates below 1%.

Competition among banks and building societies has heated up in recent months, and as a consequence, borrowing rates have fallen further.

There are now more than 80 deals available with an interest rate of 0.9% or lower, as lenders make the most of the recent housing boom and their ability to borrow money cheaply from the Bank of England with the base rate at 0.1%.

The best-buy rate for homebuyers is 0.87% on a two-year deal offered by Nationwide Building Society, available for borrowers with 40% deposits.

The rate on the 40% deposit mortgage, which comes with a hefty £1,499 fee and is available to home movers as well as those remortgaging, had previously been 0.91%.

However, it does not quite beat two-year fix offered by TSB for remortgages, which comes with a 0.84% interest rate and a lower £994 fee.

Halifax previously launched a 0.83% in early August, but that rate is no longer available.

Mortgage deals are now available for an average of just 21 days, and so it is important to advise borrowers to move quickly.

Miles Robinson, head of mortgages at online mortgage broker Trussle, commented: “The mortgage price war is really heating up and there are now 86 deals with an interest rate of 0.9% or lower. This is great news for buyers, as they have the opportunity to guarantee record low interest on their mortgage payments for up to 5 years, offering them certainty and stability.

“However, while it is extremely positive that lenders are passing competitive rates onto consumers, buyers will need significant deposits, typically of around 40%. As a result, those who can only afford high LTV products, like first-time buyers, are still missing out on the lowest interest rates available.”