The number of mortgage products on the market has increased sharply over the past two years, led by gains in the buy-to-let market, new figures show.

According to fresh research by Mortgage Brain, the volume of mortgage products available to UK mortgage advisers has increased by 86% over the past two years, with a total of 7,481 mainstream lender products, which excludes direct and exclusives, now listed on Mortgage Brain’s latest sourcing systems – up from 4,031 in September 2014 and up 49% from 5,019 this time last year.

The buy-to-let market has seen the biggest hike in product availability with 637 new products coming on stream over the past 12 months. The number of buy-to-let mortgage products now stands at 1,853 – representing a 52% increase since September 2015.

With competition between providers in the mortgage market continuing to grow, buy-to-let investors now have access to some of the cheapest ever buy-to-let mortgages deals. 

There has also been a notable rise in the number of high loan-to-value (LTV) products over the past 12 months with Mortgage Brain’s latest research showing a 47% increase year-on-year for mortgages with an LTV ratio of up to 90%.

 A total of 296 90% LTV products are now available to advisers – up from 201 in September 2015.  

Mortgages with an LTV of up to 80% have seen a similar increase with 510 new products coming to market over the past year. A total of 1,641 products are now available representing a 45% increase from the 1,131 that were available in September last year.

Mark Lofthouse, CEO of Mortgage Brain, commented, “The increase in competition, more buy-to-let lenders returning to the market and an influx of higher LTV products, has clearly had a big impact on the growth of product numbers and availability.

“There are over 3,400 more products available now compared to two years ago and this growth in product numbers means that matching a client’s needs to the best products available is more important than ever. The latest Mortgage Brain sourcing systems have over 200 product criteria, which is invaluable to brokers in helping them to best match the needs of their clients to the products available.”