Sang Tan AP Photo
Halifax is now one of the least competitive mortgage providers in the country as the market finally begins to hot up.
New research from property site realpricecomparison.com found that the nation's largest mortgage lender offered just two best buy deals in the third quarter of 2009.
By contrast, HSBC topped the list with an impressive 23 appearances in the tables, followed by RBS with 18 and NatWest's with 17.
The data ranked mortgage deals across all product categories as well as how many times lenders appeared in the top 10. It also showed how smaller players were often able to outperform their high street counterparts.
Britannia Building Society came in fourth on the list with 15 top 10 appearances, while Mansfield Building Society rounded out the top five with 14.
By contrast, Abbey featured only 10 times during the quarter, while Woolwich (8) fared even worse.
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HSBC shows aggression
While HSBC isn't traditionally associated as a major mortgage player, the data shows the bank is aggressively trying to grow its business and that can only be good news for mortgage customers.
"We've seen the beginnings of a high street rate war in September," says Realpricecomparison commercial director Francis Ghiloni.
"While HSBC's 1.99% discount deal has seen off the competitors over the last quarter, the introduction of a 1.98% deal from Woolwich in September may spark further competition in the market.
"It will be interesting to see whether HSBC can maintain the top spot in the coming months.
"Regional building societies have continued to show that they play an important part in the mortgage market. A number of smaller building societies have come out with products capable of challenging the big high street banks."
| Lender | Best buy appearances |
|---|---|
| HSBC | 23 |
| RBS | 18 |
| NatWest | 17 |
| Britannia BS | 15 |
| Mansfield BS | 14 |
| First Direct | 13 |
| Abbey | 10 |
| Woolwich | 8 |
| Post Office | 6 |
| Co-operative | 5 |
| Chelsea BS | 3 |
| Leek United BS | 3 |
| ING Direct | 3 |
| Halifax | 2 |
| Market Harborough BS | 2 |
| Melton Mowbray BS | 2 |
| Hinckley & Rugby BS | 1 |
| One Account | 1 |
